We use (and provide) a multitude of different SaaS products here at Ostratto to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes and to improve the productivity of the business. Although I have a lot of weird love for all of the services we use, my favourite and one I couldn't live without is G Suite.

Yes one could say we are albeit biased but I'm not afraid to come right out and say it’s by far the best all-in-one business services solution on the market right now. It's affordable, easy to use and super powerful. 

Today we’ll dive into the unparalleled benefits of G Suite, why we use it and recommend it to all of our partners, and how it compares to other similar solutions on the market.

Contents

​​What is G Suite?

G Suite is Google’s suite of intelligent apps. This was formerly known as Google Apps, till it was re-branded in late 2016. We primarily recommend G Suite for clients that are needing email hosting for their business. However, G Suite is much more than just email. It also includes a variety of apps and features that can come in quite handy. In fact, you’re probably already using or are familiar with some of them.

G Suite has three different plans you can purchase - Basic, Business and Enterprise. We utilise the Business G Suite plan at Ostratto. This starts at just £9.20/user/month. For many of you, the basic plan is probably all you’ll ever need and that starts at £4.60/user/month. We have a much fuller breakdown of the individual G Suite system features on our product pages but here's a quick summary of our favourite features.

​​Gmail

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides pretty much speak for themselves. Fully fledged document processing, a spreadsheet tool and presentation suite all reside directly in the G Suite system without any software downloads needed. Should your internet connection not be available, you can still work offline and your changes are automatically synced when you connect back to the world.

Import documents to make them instantly editable, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PDF files (.docx, .doc, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, xlsx, .csv, .html, .ods). You can even collaborate and comment on Microsoft Office files without it having to automatically convert to Google’s format - great when you are working with Microsoft Office-based customers.

You can also export to common third-party formats which makes it easy to collaborate with other individuals or companies and send files back and forth, without ever needing to install or purchase additional software.

One of the best features of Google Work Suite is the real-time commenting and unlimited versions. Previous versions are kept indefinitely and they don’t count toward your storage. This makes it super easy to track changes made to a document or undo a mistake. Sharing documents with your coworkers or other individuals is also incredibly easy.

​​Google Meet

What better way to meet a new client instantly than jumping on a video call. Google Meet provides an easy and secure way to handle video calling without leaving your business system. All versions of G Suite, Basic, Business and Enterprise provide the product with 100, 150 and 250 participant limits respectively - generally way more than we have ever needed.

Participants can also share screen content, or when they are using Google Chrome, a single browser tab, which is pretty neat when you need to show somebody something. The Enterprise version also allows users to record their meetings to re-watch.

Calls are crisp, reliable and secure - our key desirables in any communication product ultimately.

​​Google Admin

The Admin console for G Suite is the like mission-control. It lets business owners easily manage everything from one single place. Do everything from adding new users and groups, configuring business apps, manage devices, configure security settings (like 2-factor authentication) and add new custom domains for your business which can be used for Gmail.

Now with the admin console being the admin console, only administrators can access the wealth of configuration available. Users can be provided different administrative levels via roles, so that only the relevant parts of the admin console can be access by users.

​

​Unparalleled Benefits of G Suite

Although there are alternatives - Microsoft 365 and Zoho to name a few - there are some unparalleled benefits to G Suite which we are yet to see overcome. Here's a few.

​​Familiarity

When it comes to uptime, Google is one of the best when it comes to reliability. If you want to dig into the technical details, G Suite offers a 99.9% Service Level Agreement (SLA) for covered services, and in recent years they’ve actually exceeded that. Also due to the fact that email is such an important part of every business, G Suite has no scheduled downtime or maintenance windows. All of their data centres are built with redundant infrastructure.

But just like any service, they can never be up 100% of the time. Therefore, you can always bookmark the G Suite status dashboard or follow us on our social platforms for updates on all of their products.

​​It's Extremely Affordable

There are other providers out there that are cheaper, such as Zoho, and don't get us wrong, Zoho offer a truly excellent service too. However, just as we often advise our partners - certain technical aspects of your business you should absolutely not cheap out on. Your business email is one of those areas. Having an email host that you can rely on can save you money down the road.

Here’s a look at G Suite’s pricing and what’s included in each plan - you can drill further down into this here, but here's a brief overview:

For everything that G Suite includes - this really is a steal.

​​G Suite is secure, really secure

When it comes to security, Google really don't play around. The product is built on some of the most secure infrastructure on earth. It’s trusted by some of the biggest companies in the world; such as HP, Verizon, Whirlpool, and Salesforce. As Google says, they are leading with a “security-first mindset.” They have industry-leading knowledge and expertise backing each and every one of their products, including G Suite. They have a very thorough white-paper which covers some of the measures they take which you can read here. 

Some of their certifications:

​​​How to Move to G Suite

If you have read up to this point and you are keen to get started with G Suite then that's awesome - you are making a good decision. Get ready to work smarter.

We are partnered with G Suite. This means we provide setup services for our clients using our wealth of knowledge on the product. We then offer support plans after the initial commission.

There are a few options of migration depending on where you are coming from and how technically versed you are.

​​​Let Ostratto do it for you

The best way to move over to G Suite is to let us handle it for you. We have handled many migrations from various legacy systems with ease and we can help you today. Don't make the mistake of handling the migration yourself and losing years of important business data - it's simply not worth it.

For a quick quote or for more details on our migration and setup services just get in touch, I'm excited to chat with you and I'll try not to nerd out too hard.

​​Other Options

That being said, Google have provided extensive documentation on migration methods from various sources and if you are feeling technically confident then be sure to check out their guides:

In Closing

So there we are, a quick overview of why we go on about G Suite so much. Hopefully it's been of use to you and provided a half-decent run-through for you. If you have any questions about the product or if you want to get started today, just holla at us.

​​Communication​

Communication during these tricky times is absolutely vital. It's the difference between a happy and productive worker and a very unhappy unmotivated one. Here's some of our favourite communication tools.

Google Meet

Video meetings for your business. Meet takes the headaches out of joining a video call at work. Just set up a meeting and share a link. No worrying about whether teammates, clients, or customers have the right accounts or plug-ins. With a fast, lightweight interface and smart participant management, 100 + person video calls are a breeze.

Meet is perfect for keeping connected with your team and your customers from one product, and it comes included in the G Suite package as standard.

Google Chat

A messaging platform built for teams. Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to stay in contact with instant messaging. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently. With dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat makes it simple to track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.

RingCentral

RingCentral is our preferred cloud phone solution. Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, messaging, and more. Integrated perfectly into your business systems, you can expect big business benefits without the high cost and complexity. Your teams will have all the accessibility they need to seamlessly communicate and collaborate from anywhere, becoming more productive, effective, and efficient as a result. You can host video meetings with up to 1000 participants too - which is pretty cool.

We love it because it's super reliable and it provides a one-stop shop for all business communications.

Google Sheets

Google Slides

Slides is Google's offering of a presentation tool. It allows you to create and edit polished presentations in your browser – no software required. Several people can work at the same time so that everyone always has the latest version. It helps you to make your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations, and more. All included in G Suite.

​​Productivity

Productivity is often the measure of a successful migration to remote-working strategies. With recent developments in the technical industry it's still very possible to maintain a very high level of productivity. We've covered a few excellent communication products and we've also covered a selection of smart collaboration software.

G Suite

G Suite - our bread and butter. It provides all the tools a business needs to do business, in an extremely affordable package. An integrated suite of secure, cloud-native collaboration and productivity apps powered by Google AI. Includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more, all in the same place accessible with the same login.

We use G Suite for our business email, communications and productivity needs. The prices start at £4.60 per user/month and there's no contract, so it's really ideal for new businesses who don't want to commit to anything serious in the early days.

What I think is pretty cool is that the likes of Netflix and Colgate are using exactly the same product as a start-up business of one user. It really is modern-day cloud computing, allowing the little guys play with the big guys with no capital required. Awesome!

Zoho Projects

When we do any commissioning work such as website design or a system setup, one of our most used products is Projects. It lets us track all ongoing tasks so that an overall project progress can be seen - and shared with clients if necessary. It can help you plan your work, track it efficiently, and collaborate with your team wherever they are.

The main features we use are the tasks, the activities, issues (at times a great tool to nudge clients if we're waiting on them) and also the integration with Google Drive so that we can share files securely within the project space without needing to upload anything.

A great tool for teams that still need to be working on projects from different places.

Zoho Bookings

We've noticed a large increase in online classes since the lockdown here in the UK. Classes for exercise and yoga type activities the most prevalent. Should you be needing to host this sort of event, you need a solid way of offering booking for your 'students' - Bookings has you covered. It syncs your calendars while letting students/customers self-schedule and pay for appointments. The user interface is completely customisable to fit your brand and there is an email function that sends emails to your customers automatically reminding them when an appointment is due.

This one is for personal trainers, coaches teachers, trainers and just about anybody else that needs a way to manage classes easily.

So there you have it. They are our favourite tools because they are cost-effective, smart and they are generally awesome. They all also meet our principles.

If you need any help with working remotely during these very difficult times please just reach out. We will be happy to assist and if we can help your business in any way at no cost, we absolutely will.

Stay safe.

Not so long ago, there would have been no question of hiring a pro to get website up and running for your business. It was only the quirky folk with severe acne and an energy drink drip-feed that could produce a website on the internet and it was often an expensive ordeal.

Thanks to the rise of online tools like website builders, it has become much easier for the non-techies among us to build a more-than-decent website. Just because you can, though, doesn’t always mean you should. It’s a decision worth weighing carefully, since for some projects a professional cannot be replaced by a tool.

Now I know what you are thinking. "Lew isn't this post going to be a tad biased since you offer website design as a service?" YES. It will be shamelessly biased. That being said, you can only hire a web design company if you can actually afford to. If you don’t have the money yet to hire someone, then designing your own website may be the only option for now. In many cases, having a basic website with helpful content is better than having no website at all. 

Anyways, let's get to it - a few points to bear in mind during the design of your website.

Design

Design is not something you can pick up in an afternoon. (Maybe a few afternoons?) Without an understanding of design, you could get it wrong. Your competitors on the other hand, might choose to hire a professional web designer and avoid the mistakes.

It's about:

• User experience
• How it looks
• How it makes people feel
• How it makes people act
• The character of your business
  
• Your message to the world

You could end up saving yourself a lot of time and hassle by getting a professional to help you create something that looks well-designed and established.

SEO Knowledge

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an ever changing landscape. It's the constant battle to keep your website being found on search engines and most importantly to keep you above your competitor listings when potential customers search for your services. Search engines change their rules all the time and what worked last month might not work this month.

We've been helping clients with SEO for years and still (like a lot of aspects in this industry), we are learning more efficient ways to get the best result. SEO requires constant listening, watching and testing to see what’s changed with Google and the other search engines.

Some key technologies in the world of SEO:

• 301 Redirects
  
• Backlinks
  
• 404 Error Pages
  
• Schema Markup
  
• Domain and Page Authority
  
• Anchor Text
  

These are the basic fundamentals of SEO and so if they look alien, either get reading or get in touch with a web designer. We plan to release an article soon with a quick overview of these technologies, so keep an eye out for that.

You are not your customer

You live and breathe your business everyday and it’s fair to say you know your customers. We like to think we’re the same.

The problem is that when you’re so involved with running the business, it’s sometimes difficult to see things from your customers’ perspective. It’s difficult to imagine what it might look like seeing your website for the first time, by a prospect for example. This is known as 'the curse of knowledge'.

That’s where a professional designer can help. They can see the things you’ve missed because they are looking from a different direction. Here are a few common mistakes caused due to this 'curse':

• No prominent contact details
• No clear call to action
  
• No statement explaining succinctly what it is you do

Not every web designer will consider how your site will lead to more contact and sales because they may just be focused on creating a website for you. So admittedly this point you could look at as a possible benefit of creating your own website - you know what you want from it.

We are a little different. Here at Ostratto, your interests are our interests. Everything that comes out of our door is with our principles in mind, and they exist only to boost your business.

You might need help along the way

Building a website isn't a walk in the park. You might be able to pull something basic together with some guides and the power of YouTube but what happens if something goes wrong?

A web designer would take care of all this for you. You won’t need to fix anything or find answers to complex tech questions. We do everything for you. We've spent years educating ourselves on the technicalities of designing websites and have come across plenty of problems and solutions over that time. There’s not really any need for you to do the same.

However, that being said, here are some fantastic resources for web design tips:

• HubSpot
• Orbitmedia
  
• Webflow

The right tools for the job

Like any creative skill it requires a number of tools to ensure the job is done correctly. If you don’t have these tools and/or know how to use them, then you might not get the result you’re hoping for. Here are a list of tools we use to build successful websites:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Google Search Console
• Google Analytics
• G Suite
  
• Rank Tracking Software
• Competitor analysis software
• Landing page software

These tools can be expensive but they are necessary. Especially if you want to create high impact websites for users that perform well in search engines.

It took us a few years to learn how to use these tools and even longer to use them effectively.

LOTS of time

Learning to build a website from scratch can take a long time, especially if you aren’t very technical. Even if you’re using some super-simple website design tool you may need to do a lot tweaking to get it right. Not to mention all the image editing and resizing to make it look good and load quickly. You will also need time moving forward to update the website often to keep it fresh and looking professional enough to show to the world.

Time is money and whilst you’re learning how to build a website, you’re not managing or marketing the business.

Time - you are going to need it.

Your competitors

Even if you do have the time to create your own website, there is a high chance your competitor has paid a pro. If they have paid for a professional website to be designed and you haven’t, the likelihood is that theirs will work better.

If you are trying to stand out then you’ll want to a high quality website that looks better than your competition.

My tuppence

I know it’s tempting to try and design a website yourself, even more tempting when drag and drop software now looks so easy. Considering the points I’ve covered above, think carefully whether or not you have the time, the skills and the patience to create a showstopping website. Quite a few of our current clients have asked us to build their website after they tried to do it themselves.

At some point you’re going to have to pay a professional. It’s up to you whether you do it now or later.