Google Workspace Changes

Hangouts Chat introduces support for external collaboration with users outside the organization.

Google is updating Hangouts Chat to allow users to include people from outside their organization in conversations, facilitating easier alignment and communication with clients, vendors, and partners.

Ability to book Microsoft Exchange resources directly in Google Calendar.

G Suite users will soon be able to view and book resources, such as meeting rooms and equipment, that are stored in Microsoft Exchange and Office 365 directly within Google Calendar.

Google Calendar introduces native support for third-party conferencing add-ons.

Google Calendar is adding support for third-party conferencing add-ons, allowing providers such as Cisco Webex, GoToMeeting, and RingCentral to enable users to create, view, and join video conferences directly from a Calendar event on web or mobile without requiring downloads or plug-ins.

Configure Google Groups privacy and security settings to prevent accidental data sharing.

Google provides detailed guidance on configuring Google Groups settings to balance collaboration and security. By default, groups are private, restricting viewing, posting, and joining to domain members. G Suite admins can customize these defaults at the domain level or for specific groups, including managing who can create groups and whether external users can post or join, ensuring alignment with organizational security policies.

New insights and collaboration features added to the Activity dashboard in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Google has introduced enhancements to the Activity dashboard across Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to provide more actionable data. Users can now send follow-up emails to collaborators directly from the dashboard, with the ability to filter recipients based on whether they have viewed the file. Additionally, a new chart has been added to visualize viewing patterns over time, allowing users to adjust date ranges and hover over data points for more detailed insights.

Automatically generated meeting join instructions for third-party calendar clients.

Google Calendar now automatically adds text to event descriptions for users utilizing G Suite Sync for Microsoft Outlook, Google Sync, or third-party Android clients that rely on Calendar Provider. This text provides clear instructions on how to join meetings via Meet or Hangouts, allowing users of clients that do not natively display meeting instructions (such as Samsung S Planner) to join meetings without needing to access Google Calendar on the web.

Admin-controlled default settings for new Team Drives.

G Suite admins can now prescribe default settings for newly created Team Drives in their domains or organizational units. These defaults include options to prevent full-access members from modifying settings, restrict the creation of new Team Drives, and limit access for people outside the domain or non-members.

New user settings to safeguard Team Drive files.

Users with full access to a Team Drive can now modify settings to restrict whether files can be shared with users outside their domain or non-members of the Team Drive, and prevent commenters and viewers from downloading, copying, or printing files.

Include a message when changing or deleting meeting details in Google Calendar.

Google Calendar now allows users to enter a custom message in a dialog box when editing or deleting an existing meeting. This message is then included in the email notification sent to other guests, facilitating better communication regarding meeting changes.

Ability to copy and duplicate sites in the new Google Sites.

Google has introduced a feature allowing users to copy sites created in the new Google Sites. This functionality enables users to save time by creating backups of their work, establishing base templates for new sites, or iterating on previous versions without having to start from scratch. The feature is accessed via the More menu > Duplicate site.

Hangouts Meet is now compatible with Firefox version 60 and above.

To ensure a seamless transition to Meet, Google has added compatibility with Firefox starting on version 60. Meet utilizes native WebRTC protocols, which removes the requirement for any downloads or plugins when using the service in the Firefox browser.

G Suite domains are migrating from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet for new Calendar events.

Starting May 29, 2018, Google is enabling Hangouts Meet for all G Suite domains that are automatically upgrading on Google's recommended schedule. Consequently, all newly created Google Calendar events will contain Meet video meeting details, while previously created meetings will remain unaffected. Admins can revert to classic Hangouts for new meetings via the Admin console if desired.

Migrating all G Suite domains from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet.

Starting May 29th, Google will enable Hangouts Meet for all G Suite domains that are automatically upgrading on Google’s recommended schedule. This means that all newly created Google Calendar events will contain Meet video meeting details.

Calendar Interop now uses a restricted set of known IPs for Exchange server communication.

To enhance security for coexistence setups, Google Calendar Interop now utilizes a restricted set of known IPv4 and IPv6 addresses when communicating with Microsoft Exchange servers. This allows G Suite customers to block all incoming traffic to their on-premise Exchange servers via firewalls, except for requests originating from Calendar Interop.

Upgrading HTML boxes on classic Google Sites for improved performance and security.

Google is upgrading the functionality of HTML boxes in classic Google Sites to improve security and performance. This update may result in visual changes to embedded elements, such as different display sizes or styling. The rollout happens in two stages: starting May 25, boxes are upgraded when an editor opens them, and on June 30, all remaining legacy HTML boxes will be automatically upgraded.