Google is likely to have found a way to convince more users and businesses to shun Microsoft Office products in favor of its new no-cost team collaboration tool, Essentials Starter, which is part of the bigger and more complex subscription-based software solution Google Workspace. The new Essentials Starter free tier will grant access to all the most valuable tools like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, Chat, and Meet without forcing users to make a switch to Gmail if they already have a reliable email system in place.
Users can sign up for the offering with their current email account and invite their colleagues to collaborate on projects with them. The amount of available Drive storage that Google offers within the new tier is 15 GB per user. While there can only be 25 users on a team, the number of teams that the company can enlist is unlimited. Companies may also wish to pay to upgrade to a more advanced version when they need more features than Essentials Starter can provide for free, including access to Google Workspace support.
Google says its new plan is to allow employees more freedom in choosing which productivity tools to use when they want to boost their team collaboration or launch a new project. The tech company must be expecting that teams will use the Essentials Starter suite to supplement or entirely replace their old productivity tool stack. One of the concerns associated with the use of Essentials Starter is that this free plan does not provide for enhanced security or precise administrative control sometimes exercised by IT departments over workplace tools.
Are you ready to dump your Microsoft Office 365 and switch to Essentials Starter? Do you think it can give your workplace productivity a boost? Share your opinions in the comments to this post!
