G Suite Updates Blog

Admin console tools to better manage Google Calendar events of former employees

9/26/2017

Managing the ownership of a former employee’s calendar events and ensuring that calendar resources don’t remain booked by their stale events are challenging tasks for admins. When an employee leaves an organization, you can either delete their account or suspend it for a certain amount of time before deleting it.

Today, we’re introducing a new set of tools to better assist admins with managing former employees’ calendar events, which will help you streamline your company’s employee exit workflows.

When you delete a user, you can choose to transfer their future events to a new owner and optionally, release the resources that these events occupy. This ensures continuity of the scheduled events with an active employee who can continue managing them. You can change ownership of an employee’s events via the user deletion flow, by navigating to Apps > G Suite > Calendar > Manage User Data, or via the Data Transfer API.

If you choose not to transfer events upon user deletion, it is recommended that you opt in to have Calendar automatically cancel future events for all deleted employees, 21 days after the deletion. This will ensure that no unmanaged future events remain in the calendars of guests and resources. To opt in for automatic cancellation, navigate to Apps > G Suite > Calendar > Manage User Data.

At any other time (e.g. after a user’s suspension), you can manually initiate event transfer, event cancellation or resource release of future events, by navigating to Apps > G Suite > Calendar > Manage User Data.

Please note, this service is available to Super Admins and to admins who have the Data Transfer privilege.

For more information, please visit this Help Center article.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage Calendar events for suspended or deleted accounts

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Adding ten third-party applications to the G Suite pre-integrated SSO apps catalog

9/25/2017

Single-Sign-On (SSO) enables users to access their enterprise cloud applications—including administrators signing in to the Admin console—by signing in one time for all services. Google supports the two most popular Enterprise SSO standards, OpenID Connect and SAML. There are over 800 applications with pre-integrated SSO support in our third party apps catalog already, and we are constantly adding more.

Today, we’re adding SAML integration for ten additional applications: BambooHR, ClearSlide, Domo, Egnyte, Federated Directory, HipChat Server, Samanage, SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication, UserTesting, and Workfront.

You can find our full list of pre-integrated applications, as well as instructions for installing them, in the Help Center.

Note that apart from the pre-integrated SAML applications, G Suite also supports installing “Custom SAML Applications” which means that admins can install any third-party application that supports SAML. The advantage of a pre-integrated app is the installation is much easier. You can learn more about installing Custom SAML Applications in this Help Center article.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Using SAML to set up federated SSO

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Hosted S/MIME now supports advanced controls for Root Certificate Authorities (CAs)

9/22/2017

Gmail’s Hosted S/MIME solution currently requires certificates to be from certain trusted root Certificate Authorities (CAs) that meet very specific guidelines; however, a popular request from our enterprise customers has been allowing you to upload, from within the Admin Console, additional root certificates that you want Hosted S/MIME to trust. Today we’re making this possible for Gmail administrators using Hosted S/MIME.

Accepting additional Root Certificates

Google has a set of requirements for acceptable S/MIME encrypted messages which follow strict security guidelines; however, you may have noticed that recipients that don’t meet these requirements appear as not “trusted” and can’t be sent those messages. Once this new admin console control is available, you will be able to upload additional root certificates to ensure the email you want to have trusted by Gmail servers are designated as such for your users. For details on how to get started, see our Help Center article.

Please note: While accepting additional root certificates will remove the ‘not trusted’ indicator in Gmail, we recommend evaluating current certificate best practices as outlined here.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available for G Suite Enterprise customers only

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Enable hosted S/MIME for enhanced message security
Help Center: S/MIME certificate profile requirements
Help Center: CA certificates trusted by Gmail for S/MIME

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Introducing limits on file access requests in Team Drives

9/21/2017

Starting today, in situations where a user is sent a link to a file in a Team Drive that they don’t have access to, we’ll only send the Request Access notification to the creator of the file, or a limited group of individuals who had relevant interaction with the Team Drive. We will no longer always send it to all members of the Team Drive.

This change not only helps to ensure that the members of your Team Drives aren’t receiving unnecessary emails, it also prevents unwanted oversharing of Team Drive content.

Please Note: We are continuing to add signals and improve the quality of our Request Access notifications so the members of your Team Drives can quickly gain access to content.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Enterprise, Business, Nonprofit, and Education editions only

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information on how to use Team Drives
Help Center: Share files with Team Drives

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Search in the new Google Sites

9/21/2017

Recently, we made it easier to surface content in the new Google Sites. Now we’re making it easier to find content on those sites. Going forward, users can simply click the magnifying glass in the top right corner of their screen and search across an entire site.

In addition, Google Cloud Search users will now see content from the new Google Sites in their Cloud Search results.

These improvements will allow Google Sites to better serve the needs of both site creators and viewers. Check out the Help Center for more details.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Search bar in the new Google Sites

Available to all G Suite editions

New Google sites appear in Google Cloud Search results

Available to G Suite Business and Enterprise editions only

Rollout pace:
Search bar in the new Google Sites

Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

New Google sites appear in Google Cloud Search results

Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Preview and publish your site on the web

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Set restrictions on what content people interact with and share on Google+

9/21/2017

Google+ is a great tool for helping employees discover and engage with external content that can be relevant to work. From an administrative perspective, we’ve heard from you that having more controls around content and commenting rights for your users would be helpful. That’s why today, we’re making this possible by adding new content restriction settings in Google+.

To change Google+ sharing settings for a specific organizational unit (OU), you can go to Apps > G Suite > Google+ > Advanced Settings in the Admin console, where you can first select the appropriate OU.

Depending on your preferences and the needs of the people in that OU, you can then pick one of three options:

Public Mode - View/comment on internal and external content. This mode allows G Suite users to view/share/interact with content that is both inside and outside of the domain. This is similar to how Google+ operates today. This mode is best for specific OUs (e.g. those used for outward-facing roles like marketing and support) who should be able to interact with customers and external partners via Google+.
Private Mode - View/comment on internal content only. This setting offers the most control over Google+ activity, as it restricts G Suite users to viewing/sharing/interacting with only people inside their domain. Please note, G Suite users can still view content outside of their domain if they get a direct link or had joined/followed an external community/person/collection prior to being placed into this mode.
Hybrid Mode - View external content (e.g. industry news), but only engage with it internally. This setting offers moderate control over Google+ activity, as it allows G Suite users to view content outside their domain, but only share/interact with it internally.

The table below outlines what G Suite users can do under each setting:

Since these settings can be customized at the OU level, you’ll have the opportunity to differentiate permissions. For example, you can use the Public setting only for OUs that need to interact with people outside of the domain, whether that be the support team, marketing team, or others in customer-facing roles.

For more information on the impact to user experiences at each level of this setting, please review this Help Center article.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage Google+ content sharing

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See the status of a Gmail message after it’s been delivered

9/20/2017

Using Gmail’s Email Log Search feature in the Admin console, G Suite admins can track the delivery of messages sent and received by users within their domain. Until now, admins had to reach out to end users directly or search their mailboxes to see the status of a message after it had been delivered. With this launch, that’s no longer necessary, as a message’s post-delivery status will be listed in Email Log Search results.

Going forward, to see the current location of an email, whether it’s been read or deleted, as well as any assigned labels, admins can simply expand the “Post-delivery message details” under “Recipient details” in an Email Log Search result. With this info, admins will be well-equipped to help users find missing messages.

A note about messages more than 30 days old
The date range search options for message delivery logs in Email Log Search are limited to 30 days. With this launch, we’re introducing a new date range field of “Older than 30 days.” Please bear in mind that this new field will only retrieve the post-delivery message details for messages received more than 30 days ago. It will not retrieve any other information.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Interpret Email Log Search results
Help Center: View Email Log Search result details
Help Center: Track message delivery with Email Log Search
Help Center: Find missing messages with Email Log Search

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Search more intuitively using natural language processing in Google Cloud Search

9/19/2017

(Cross-posted from The Keyword, with some additional details)

Earlier this year, we launched Google Cloud Search, a new G Suite tool that uses machine learning to help organizations find and access information quickly.

Just like in Google Search, which lets you search queries in a natural, intuitive way, we want to make it easy for you to find information in the workplace using everyday language. According to Gartner research, by 2018, 30 percent or more of enterprise search queries will start with a "what," "who," "how" or "when.”*

Today, we’re making it possible to use natural language processing (NLP) technology in Cloud Search so you can track down information—like documents, presentations or meeting details—fast.

Find information fast with Cloud Search

If you’re looking for a Google Doc, you’re more likely to remember who shared it with you than the exact name of a file. Now, you can use NLP technology, an intuitive way to search, to find information quickly in Cloud Search.

Type queries into Cloud Search using natural, everyday language. Ask questions like “Docs shared by Mary,” “Who’s Bob’s manager?” or “What docs need my attention?” and Cloud Search will show you answer cards with relevant information.

In addition to natural language processing, Cloud Search users will now see content from the new Google Sites in their Cloud Search results.

Having access to information quicker can help you make better and faster decisions in the workplace. If your organization runs on G Suite Business or Enterprise edition, start using Cloud Search now. If you’re new to Cloud Search, learn more on our website or check out this video to see it in action.

For more information on using Cloud Search, visit the Help Center.

*Gartner, ‘Insight Engines’ Will Power Enterprise Search That is Natural, Total and Proactive, 09 December 2015, refreshed 05 April 2017

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Business and Enterprise editions only

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Use everyday words to search

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Export data from Google Vault in PST format

9/18/2017

We know that many organizations add their data to e-discovery processing and review tools in Microsoft Personal Storage Table (PST) format. To save those businesses time and to make the process of producing and importing data easier, we’re now giving Vault admins the ability to export Gmail, Google Groups, and on-the-record Google Hangouts chat data in PST format.

For more information on exporting data from Vault, check out the Help Center articles below.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Education editions, as well as G Suite Basic users with add-on Vault licenses

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: How Vault exports work
Help Center: Export search results

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Addresses, phone numbers, and contacts now converted to links in Gmail and Inbox to save users time

9/18/2017

Gmail users often exchange information like addresses and phone numbers with each other to set up meetings, introduce colleagues, and plan events. Precious time can be lost by having to copy and paste this information from an email into other apps and websites, so we wanted to provide a better way to perform these tasks that also saves time. That’s why starting today, Gmail and Inbox by Gmail on Android, iOS, and the web will begin converting text to interactive hyperlinks whenever they detect phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses in emails.

How it works
Clicking an address link will take the user to Google Maps. Clicking an email address will compose a new email, using the user’s default email client. Finally, when using a mobile device, clicking a phone number will start a call request using the default phone app.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

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Reminder: Google Data Calendar Resource API shutting down on November 15th, 2017

9/14/2017

In December 2015, we announced that we were replacing the Google Data (GDATA) Calendar Resource API with a new Calendar Resource API that’s part of the Admin SDK’s Directory API. Originally scheduled for January 2017, the formal shutdown of the GDATA Calendar Resource API will now take place on November 15th, 2017.

If you’re using an application that uses the old GDATA Calendar Resource API, or if you’ve used this API directly in your code, please consider switching to the latest version of the apps (after consulting the app developer) or update your code to use the new Calendar Resource API.

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Check out the most recent G Suite launches

9/14/2017

In June, we introduced a new resource for admins: What’s new in G Suite? Don’t forget to visit the page regularly for a list of the most recent launches across G Suite.

Feedback? Let us know.

Embed websites as iframes in the new Google Sites

9/13/2017

We’ve heard you loud and clear—you want better ways to add content to the new Google Sites. Today, we’re making it easy. Going forward, you can embed an entire webpage as an iframe in a new Google site. This will allow you to pull in content from other websites and Google tools like Apps Script, Data Studio, and App Maker, saving you the trouble of duplicating and updating that information on your page. Simply select “Embed URL” from the Insert menu. Note that this will only work if the webpage you’re trying to add allows embedding.

Check out the Help Center for details, and stay tuned for more features coming soon.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid Release, with Scheduled Release coming in two weeks

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Preview and publish your site on the web

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7 ways admins can help secure accounts against phishing in G Suite

9/08/2017

(Cross-posted from The Keyword)

Posted by Nicolas Kardas, Product Manager Gmail Security, and Sam Lugani, Security Product Marketing G Suite

We work hard to help protect your company against phishing attacks—from using machine learning, to tailoring our detection algorithms, to building features to spot previously unseen attacks. While we block as many external attacks as we can, we continue to build and offer features designed to empower IT administrators to develop strong internal defenses against phishing.

Here are seven things we recommend admins do in G Suite to better protect employee data.

1. Enforce 2-step verification
Two-step verification (2SV) is one of the best ways to prevent someone from accessing your account, even if they steal your password. In G Suite, admins have the ability to enforce 2-step verification. 2SV can reduce the risk of successful phishing attacks by asking employees for additional proof of identity when they sign in. This can be in the form of phone prompts, voice calls, mobile app notifications and more.

G Suite also supports user-managed security keys—easy to use hardware authenticators. Admins can choose to enforce the use of security keys to help reduce the risk of stolen credentials being used to compromise an account. The key sends an encrypted signature and works only with authorized sites. Security keys can be deployed, monitored and managed directly from within the Admin console.

Watch "The Key to working smarter faster and safer" on YouTube

2. Deploy Password Alert extension for Chrome
The Password Alert chrome extension checks each page that users visit to see if that page is impersonating Google’s sign-in page and notifies admins if users enter their G Suite credentials anywhere other than the Google sign-in page.

Admins can enforce deployment of the Password Alert Chrome extension from the Google Admin console (Device management > App Management > Password Alert)—just sign in and get started. You should check “Force installation" under both “User Settings” and “Public session settings.”

Admins can also enable password alert auditing, send email alerts and enforce a password change policy when G Suite credentials have been used on a non-trusted website such as a phishing site.

3. Allow only trusted apps to access your data
Take advantage of OAuth apps whitelisting to specify which apps can access your users’ G Suite data. With this setting, users can grant access to their G Suite apps’ data only to whitelisted apps. This prevents malicious apps from tricking users into accidentally granting unauthorized access. Apps can be whitelisted by admins in the Admin console under G Suite API Permissions.

4. Publish a DMARC policy for your organization
To help your business avoid damage to its reputation from phishing attacks and impersonators, G Suite follows the DMARC standard. DMARC empowers domain owners to decide how Gmail and other participating email providers handle unauthenticated emails coming from your domain. By defining a policy and turning on DKIM email signing, you can ensure that emails that claim to be from your organization, are actually from you.

5. Disable third-party email client access for those who don’t need it
The Gmail clients (Android, iOS, Web) leverage Google Safe Browsing to incorporate anti-phishing security measures such as disabling suspicious links and attachments and displaying warnings to users to deter them from clicking on suspicious links.

By choosing to disable POP and IMAP, Google Sync and G Suite Sync for Microsoft Outlook, admins can ensure that a significant portion of G Suite users will only use Gmail clients and benefit from the built-in phishing protections that they provide. Additional measures include enabling OAuth apps whitelisting to block third-party clients as suggested earlier in the blog.

Note: all third-party email clients, including native mobile mail clients, will stop working if the measures outlined above are implemented.

6. Encourage your team to pay attention to external reply warnings
By default, Gmail clients (Android, Web) warn G Suite users if they’re responding to emails sent from outside their domain by someone they don’t regularly interact with, or from someone not in their contacts. This helps businesses protect against forged emails, from malicious actors or just plain old user-error like sending an email to the wrong contact. Educate your employees to look for these warnings and be careful before responding to unrecognized senders. Unintended external reply warnings are controlled from the Admin console control in the “Advanced Gmail” setting.

7. Enforce the use of Android work profiles
Work profiles allow you to separate your organization's apps from personal apps, keeping personal and corporate data separate. By using integrated device management within G Suite to enforce the use of work profiles, you can whitelist applications that access corporate data and block installation of apps from unknown sources. You now have complete control over which apps have access to your corporate data.

These steps can help you improve your organization’s security posture and become more resistant to phishing attacks. Learn more at gsuite.google.com/security or sign up for our security webinar on September 20, 2017 which features new security research from Forrester and a demonstration on how the cloud can help effectively combat cyber threats.

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Control mobile app settings at the organizational unit and group levels

9/07/2017

We know that companies, especially large enterprises, are organized in complex ways, and different employees need different things. With that in mind, we’re giving G Suite Business and Enterprise admins more granular control over mobile app management, allowing them to assign different settings for different organizational units (OUs) and groups. This means that an admin can, among other things, whitelist certain apps for their executive team and others for their marketing org, or prohibit their sales team from disabling specific apps. Previously, admins could only do these things for an entire domain.

Both Android and iOS apps can be distributed at the OU and group level. For more information, check out the Help Center.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to G Suite Business and Enterprise editions only

Rollout pace:
Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage apps on mobile devices

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Drive File Stream launching to all G Suite customers

9/06/2017

Launched to early adopters in March, Drive File Stream is a new desktop application that allows you to quickly access all of your Google Drive files on demand, directly from your computer, meaning you use almost none of your hard drive space and spend less time waiting for files to sync.

Starting today, you’ll see settings in the Admin console for Drive File Stream (located at Apps > G Suite > Drive and Docs > Data Access). Note—these settings won’t go into effect for your users until Tuesday, September 26th, when Drive File Stream becomes generally available.

As of today, Drive File Stream will be turned ON for all customers, but we’ll only show download links in the Drive interface if you currently show them for Backup and Sync / Google Drive for Mac/PC. For more information on how to turn Drive File Stream on or off in your domain, check out the Help Center.

With this launch, Google Drive for Mac/PC is officially deprecated. It will no longer be supported starting on December 11th, 2017, and it will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018. We encourage you to use Drive File Stream. As an alternative to or in addition to installing Drive File Stream, you can upgrade to the new version of Drive for Mac/PC, called Backup and Sync.

A few important things to note:

In October, Drive for Mac/PC users may start seeing messages in the product notifying them that Drive for Mac/PC is going away.
If a user is running both Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync on the same machine, they’ll be prompted to stop syncing My Drive with Backup and Sync in order to save disk space.
Team Drive editors won’t be able to edit their Team Drive files when they’re opened in Drive File Stream; they’ll only be able to view them. To edit these files, they’ll need to open them in Drive on the web.

Check out the Help Center for more information on Drive File Stream, including:

A side-by-side feature comparison with Backup and Sync.
Instructions for turning on Drive File Stream and deploying it to your organization.
Sample emails you can send to your users with more information.
FAQs.

Say goodbye to time-consuming file syncing and any concerns about disk space. With Drive File Stream, all your files are always ready for you and your colleagues.

Launch Details
Release track:

Drive File Stream Admin console settings launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release on September 6th, 2017; Drive File Stream launching to end users on both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release on September 26th, 2017
Support for Google Drive for Mac/PC ending on December 11th, 2017; Google Drive for Mac/PC to stop working on March 12, 2018

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:

Admin console settings

Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Availability for end users

Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Deploy Drive File Stream

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Jamboard now available for purchase in the United Kingdom

9/06/2017

Over the last few months, we announced that Jamboard, our cloud-based, collaborative whiteboard, was available for purchase in the United States and Canada. Starting today, we’re bringing Jamboard to the United Kingdom.

G Suite customers in the UK can now purchase Jamboard for £3,999 (GBP), which includes two styluses, an eraser, and a wall mount. This pricing excludes VAT. We’re also running a promotion—if you order on or before December 31, 2017, you’ll receive a discount off of the annual management and support fee, as well as a discount on the optional rolling stand. See the table below for pricing and promotion details.

Keep in mind that a G Suite license is required to use Jamboard so that you can access files from Drive, use them in your brainstorms and come back to your work later.

UK-based G Suite customers can contact their Google Cloud sales rep, our distributor, BenQ, or visit our website to learn more about how to start jamming with colleagues today.

Additional info for G Suite admins
In addition to the Jamboard device, the Jamboard app is available on Android and iOS for all G Suite customers. When used on a tablet, the Jamboard app allows users to experience similar features as they would on the Jamboard device. On a smartphone, the app functions as a companion for the Jamboard device.

Usage of the Jamboard app is controlled by a service on/off switch in the Admin console, and is off by default.

Check out the Help Center for more information, including an FAQ section.

Launch Details
Release track:
Jamboard devices now available for purchase in the United Kingdom.

Editions:
G Suite Basic, Business, Enterprise, and Education** customers.

**G Suite for Education customers will need to satisfy certain requirements in order to purchase Jamboard devices. See the Help Center FAQ for more information.

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center
FAQ

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What's New in G Suite - August 2017

9/05/2017

Check out the latest "What's New in G Suite" launch recap [pdf] for a roundup of all G Suite launches from August 2017.

Archive & Translated Versions (coming soon for August issue)

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Check out the most recent G Suite launches

8/30/2017

In June, we introduced a new resource for admins: What’s new in G Suite? Don’t forget to visit the page regularly for a list of the most recent launches across G Suite.

Feedback? Let us know.

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Managing Android Wear 2.0 devices with Google Mobile Management

8/28/2017

When we launched Android Wear 2.0, we launched more than a platform for notifications on a watch—we launched an extension of your phone. With Android Wear 2.0, you can write emails, manage calendar appointments, chat with coworkers, make calls, and more.

As a G Suite administrator, we believe that you should be able to manage any device—not just smartphones and tablets, but watches as well. That’s why we’ve made it possible to manage Android Wear 2.0 devices with Google Mobile Management. Now you can enforce policies (like requiring a PIN or a password) and remove corporate data if a user’s Android Wear 2.0 watch is lost or stolen.

If you’re already managing devices with Google Mobile Management, there’s nothing more you need to do. If an employee adds her corporate account to a watch with Android Wear 2.0, she'll be automatically prompted to download the Google Apps Device Policy app and set up her watch accordingly.

If you’re not managing devices with Google Mobile Management, we’ve now made it easier than ever. Check out our guide on the Help Center for steps to get started.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage your business's mobile devices
Help Center: Set up mobile device management automatically
Help Center: Get G Suite apps on your Android Wear smartwatch

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Google’s Contacts app (v2.1) now available for more Android devices

8/23/2017

Google’s Contacts app is now available for any device running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or higher, including Samsung, LG, Motorola, and others.

Android users in your organization can now download version 2.1 of the Contacts app from the Play Store. This version features:

A simple way to move contacts from a device’s storage into a Google Account, so the contacts are safely backed up and available on all devices.
Clear separation between work and personal contacts.
Suggestions for adding new contacts, cleaning up duplicates, and more.

For more information on using the Contacts app on Android devices, check out this Help Center article.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Sync all contact data to your mobile device

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Jamboard now available for purchase in Canada

8/22/2017

Back in May we announced that Jamboard, our cloud-based, collaborative whiteboard, was available for purchase in the United States. Starting today, we’re bringing Jamboard to Canada*, with more countries to follow.

G Suite customers in Canada can now purchase Jamboard for $6,949 (CAD), which includes two styluses, an eraser, and a wall mount. We’re also running a promotion—if you order on or before December 31, 2017, you’ll receive a discount off of the annual management and support fee, as well as a discount on the optional rolling stand. See the table below for pricing and promotion details.

Keep in mind that a G Suite license is required to use Jamboard so that you can access files from Drive, use them in your brainstorms and come back to your work later.

Canada-based G Suite customers can contact their Google Cloud sales rep or fill out an interest form to learn more about how to start jamming with colleagues today.

Additional info for G Suite admins
In addition to the Jamboard device, the Jamboard app is available on Android and iOS for all G Suite customers. When used on a tablet, the Jamboard app allows users to experience similar features as they would on the Jamboard device. On a smartphone, the app functions as a companion for the Jamboard device.

Usage of the Jamboard app is controlled by a service on/off switch in the Admin console, and is off by default.

Check out the Help Center for more information, including an FAQ section.

*Jamboard is coming to the following Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan.

Launch Details
Release track:
Jamboard devices now available for purchase in Canada.

Editions:
G Suite Basic, Business, Enterprise, and Education** customers.

**G Suite for Education customers will need to satisfy certain requirements in order to purchase Jamboard devices. See the Help Center FAQ for more information.

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center
FAQ

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Map your site to a custom URL in the new Google Sites

8/21/2017

As a professional organization, it’s often important that you host both internal and external info at a well-known URL. Already supported in the classic Google Sites, this is now available in the new Google Sites as well. For more information on how to set up web address mapping in the Admin console, check out the Help Center.

Web address mapping settings in the Admin console

Users in domains with web address mapping set up will see a similar message when publishing sites

Important notes

For sites that are viewable within your organization only, the link is redirected to the Google Sites URL (such as http://sites.google.com/example.com/mysite).
New Sites address mappings automatically provision domain-validated SSL certificates for secure connections. You cannot use other certificates.
You may need to wait up to 24 hours to see your changes reflected. This feature is not available for trial domains.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Change a site URL

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Find content and communities from all across Google+ with the new Discover stream

8/16/2017

To help people using Google+ find the most relevant and useful conversations happening inside their companies, today we’re introducing a new Discover tab on iOS devices and the web.

Here they’ll find personalized recommendations of posts to see, people to know, and communities to join -- helping them stay in the loop on information being shared within your company.

To make way for Discover, you may have noticed we removed the Collections tab. ‘Featured Collections’ have a new home within Discover and ‘Your / Followed Collections’ can be found by clicking on ‘Communities and Collections’ on your profile.

Based on user feedback, we’ve also simplified tab navigation. With the addition of the Profile tab on mobile, it’s easier for people to reach their profile pages, where they can then quickly access their communities and collections. With this launch, we aim to make it easy for people to focus on what they’re interested in.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

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Get on the same page: new Google Docs features help power team collaboration

8/16/2017

(Cross-posted from The Keyword, with some additional details)

Getting people on the same page for a project can be tough. It requires managing a ton of opinions and suggestions. The last thing you should have to worry about is making sure your team is literally working on the same document. That’s why we built our powerful real-time editing tools to help with this—Google Docs, Sheets and Slides—so that teams can work together at the same time, using the most up-to-date version.

Today, we're introducing new updates to better help with "version control," to customize tools for your workflows, and to help teams locate information when they need it.

Track changes, make progress

It can take dozens of edits to make a document just right—especially a legal agreement, project proposal or research paper. These new updates in Docs let you more easily track your team’s changes. Now, your team can:

1. Name versions of a Doc, Sheet or Slide on the web.
Being able to assign custom names to versions of your document is a great way to keep a historical record of your team's progress. It's also helpful for communicating when a document is actually final. You can organize and track your team’s changes in one place under “Version history” (formerly known as “Revision history”) on the web. Select File > Version history > Name current version. For even quicker recall, there’s an option to select “Only show named versions” in Docs, Sheets or Slides.

2. Preview “clean versions” of Docs on the web to see what your Doc looks like without comments or suggested edits.
Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Preview accept all OR Preview reject all.

3. Accept or reject all edit suggestions at once in your Doc so your team doesn’t have to review every single punctuation mark or formatting update.
Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Accept all OR Reject all.

4. Suggest changes in a Doc from an Android, iPhone or iPad device.
Click the three dots menu in the top right of your Doc screen to suggest edits on the go. Turn on the “Suggest changes” toggle and start typing in “suggestion mode.”

5. Compare documents and review redlines instantly with Litera Change-Pro or Workshare Add-ons in Docs.

Here’s a quick way to preview and accept all changes (or reject them) and name versions of your document.

Use new templates, add-on time-saving functionality

Teams use templates in Docs and Sheets to save time on formatting. At the same time, developers are building add-ons to customize functionality. We thought, why not bring these two together? That’s why today, we’re introducing new templates with built-in add-ons and the ability to create your own, so your templates not only look good—but they make sure the work gets done.

These templates allow you to customize and deploy tools specific to your organization’s workflows. We’ve launched five examples of this in the general template gallery, like the new Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) template from LegalZoom and DocuSign. With this template, businesses can quickly create an NDA and collect signatures using the DocuSign Add-on for Docs. Bonus: it also automatically detects the required signature fields on the template, which saves even more time when you request signatures. This is just one of a few new templates—we’ve also worked with Lucidchart to create a business process manual, PandaDoc for a consulting agreement, Supermetrics for a website paid traffic report, and EasyBib for an MLA report. Each should help you save time and maximize efficiency throughout your team’s workflows.

In addition, you can create your very own template with built-in add-on customized to your company’s workflows. For example, create a Sheets template paired with an add-on to gather internal approvals or an invoice template in Docs (paired with an add-on) that pulls information from your CRM system.

Admins, if you don’t currently allow your users to install add-ons, you can still use these new templates by deploying specific add-ons only. Or, if you’d prefer to allow your users to install only certain add-ons, you can block specific third-party OAuth scopes and whitelist only those add-ons you trust.

Note that templates paired with add-ons abide by the same Admin console settings as all other templates and are available in English only.

The new Mutual NDA template from LegalZoom and DocuSign lets you collect NDA approvals stat.

Find the information you need, when you need it

Sometimes the hardest part of creating a proposal or client presentation is tracking down the information you need to include in it. Starting today for G Suite Business and Enterprise customers, Google Cloud Search will integrate with Docs and Slides via the Explore feature. Using Machine Intelligence, Cloud Search surfaces relevant information to help you work more efficiently throughout your day.

To get started, open the Explore tab in Docs or Slides and type what you’re looking for. Cloud Search will show you important details from your information across your G Suite apps including Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Sites and more, to help you create top-notch Docs and presentations.

Now you can use Google Cloud Search through the Explore feature in Docs and Slides.

Teams are using Docs to collaborate in creative ways. Check out this post for inspiration, or visit the Docs site to get started.

Launch Details
Release track:

Versions and Cloud Search in Explore

Launching to Rapid Release, with Scheduled Release coming in two weeks

Suggestions

Mobile features launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release
Web features launching to Rapid Release, with Scheduled Release coming in two weeks

Templates

Launching to Rapid Release, with Scheduled Release coming in two weeks*

*Templates created by our partners will appear immediately in all template galleries, but the add-on functionality associated with them will launch only to domains on the Rapid Release track. Domains on the Scheduled Release track will see add-on functionality in two weeks.

Editions:

Versions, Suggestions, and Templates

Available to all G Suite editions

Cloud Search in Explore

Available to G Suite Business and Enterprise editions with Cloud Search enabled only

Rollout pace:

Versions, Suggestions, and Templates

Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Cloud Search in Explore

Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:

Versions and Suggestions

All end users

Templates and Cloud Search in Explore

Admins and end users

Action:

Versions and Suggestions

Change management suggested/FYI

Templates and Cloud Search in Explore

Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information

Versions

Help Center: See what’s changed in a file

Suggestions

Help Center: Suggest edits in Google Docs

Templates

Help Center: Create a file from a template
Help Center: Enable add-ons in Google Docs editors
Help Center: Whitelisting connected apps
Help Center: Manage templates for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms

Cloud Search in Explore

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Check out the most recent G Suite launches

8/16/2017

In June, we introduced a new resource for admins: What’s new in G Suite? Don’t forget to visit the page regularly for a list of the most recent launches across G Suite.

Feedback? Let us know.

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Anti-phishing security checks in the Gmail app for iOS

8/10/2017

In May of this year, we introduced anti-phishing security checks in the Gmail Android app. We’re now bringing similar checks to the Gmail app on your iOS device. Going forward, when you click on a suspicious link in a Gmail message on your iPhone or iPad, we’ll show the warning below. We recommend that you use caution before proceeding, because the link is likely unsafe. Only proceed if you’re confident there’s no risk.

If you click on a link we know to be dangerous, we’ll show you a page like the one below and warn you against visiting the original URL.

These warnings are intended to prevent harmful phishing attacks and help you keep your account safe.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Avoid and report phishing emails

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Updates

Admin console tools to better manage Google Calendar events of former employees

Adding ten third-party applications to the G Suite pre-integrated SSO apps catalog

Hosted S/MIME now supports advanced controls for Root Certificate Authorities (CAs)

Introducing limits on file access requests in Team Drives

Search in the new Google Sites

Set restrictions on what content people interact with and share on Google+

See the status of a Gmail message after it’s been delivered

Search more intuitively using natural language processing in Google Cloud Search

Export data from Google Vault in PST format

Addresses, phone numbers, and contacts now converted to links in Gmail and Inbox to save users time

Reminder: Google Data Calendar Resource API shutting down on November 15th, 2017

Check out the most recent G Suite launches

Embed websites as iframes in the new Google Sites

7 ways admins can help secure accounts against phishing in G Suite

Control mobile app settings at the organizational unit and group levels

Drive File Stream launching to all G Suite customers

Jamboard now available for purchase in the United Kingdom

What's New in G Suite - August 2017

Check out the most recent G Suite launches

Managing Android Wear 2.0 devices with Google Mobile Management

Google’s Contacts app (v2.1) now available for more Android devices

Jamboard now available for purchase in Canada

Map your site to a custom URL in the new Google Sites

Find content and communities from all across Google+ with the new Discover stream

Get on the same page: new Google Docs features help power team collaboration

Check out the most recent G Suite launches

Anti-phishing security checks in the Gmail app for iOS

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