Organisational workspace for communication

 

SHARE

The modern workplace is constantly evolving in order to adapt to the speed of technology innovation and to accommodate an increasingly remote workforce. Now more than ever before, businesses and other organizations need to make it easy for their employees to stay connected and work together, regardless whether they’re in-office or spread across the four corners of the world. Fortunately, there’s software designed specifically to solve that challenge.

Zoho Workplace and Google Workspace are two popular collaboration and productivity software suites that bundle email, chat, calendaring, document management and much, much more. Both Zoho Workplace and Google Workspace are cloud-based, meaning their full roster of applications are accessible from anywhere in the world; this makes them ideally suited for any organization, especially those with a remote workforce.

It’s worth noting that Google Workspace is the latest iteration of Google’s much-beloved G Suite; the company officially announced the name change, as well as unveiled new features, on October 6, 2020. Though Zoho is far from the household name that Google is, the software company has been holding its own against its more well-known competitors for years now and is fast becoming the office productivity suite of choice for organizations around the globe.

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how Zoho Workplace and Google Workspace stack up so that, when the time comes, you can choose the right collaboration and productivity software for your business.

Feature Comparison

Zoho Workplace

All of Zoho Workplace’s business apps fall into one of three categories: Office Productivity, Team Collaboration or Unified Communication. In category number one, Office Productivity, you’ll find the following:

• Writer: A cloud-based word processor that enables you to share documents, leave comments and track changes, all in real time.
• Sheet: A spreadsheet-based tools that enables you to generate charts and other data visualizations and create automated workflows to run complex calculations.
• Show: Presentation software that enables you to create highly customizable, interactive presentations.

The second category, Team Collaboration, includes:

• WorkDrive: Zoho’s online content collaboration platform, which enables you to dynamically store, manage and shares files with both groups and individuals.
• ShowTime: An online digital training and education platform that enables you to create and share interactive training presentations and monitor learners’ progress.
• Meeting:  A web conferencing platform featuring audio and visual capabilities, screen sharing and webinar development capabilities.

And finally, the third category, Team Collaboration, consists of:

• Mail: Zoho’s web-based email hosting service comes with 30 GB of storage per user (for the Standard plan) and includes such features as:
  • Email groups
  • Email sharing
  • Folder sharing (with delegation)
  • Recall sent email
  • Email forwarding/routing
  • Active Sync
  • Email aliases
  • Group email alias
  • Domain alias

Zoho Mail also includes built-in Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Bookmarks and Contacts applications.

• Cliq: Zoho’s built-in instant messaging platform, which you can use to create group chats and topic-driven channels. Cliq also offers audio and video call functionality.
• Connect: Team collaboration software that effectively enables you to create your own social intranet, through which employees can share ideas, send files, discuss issues, make announcements and more. Users can even create internal channels for smaller groups to facilitate private conversations.

Google Workspace

Like Zoho Workplace, Google Workspace boast an impressive array of apps designed to promote workplace productivity, collaboration and communication. We’ve listed the apps below that roughly correspond to those included in Zoho Workplace:

• Docs: Web-based word processor that, like Zoho Writer, allows for real-time document sharing, editing and collaboration; Google Docs also features a built-in chat functionality so users can discuss ideas as changes are made.
• Sheets: Cloud-based spreadsheet software that enables you to edit files from anywhere, add collaborators to projects, monitor changes as they occur and uncover valuable data-driven insights.
• Slides: Online presentation builder with a large library of premade slide designs and commenting, chat and real-time editing capabilities.
• Drive: Flexible file storage and synchronization service that enables you to organize, access and share files all from a single, secure location.
• Meet: Enterprise-grade video and voice conferencing platform with Chat and Calendar integration. Google Meet leveraged encryption in transit to secure all video conferences.
• Gmail: Google’s flagship business email hosting service. Gmail includes a long list of features, including:
  • Recall sent email
  • Email forwarding/routing
  • Active sync
  • Email aliases
  • Group email aliases
  • Domain alias
  • Smart Compose
  • Email notifications
  • Scheduled emails
  • Automatic sign out from multiple devices
  • Email snoozing
  • Offline accessibility
  • Passcode and expiration date for sensitive emails

Unlike Zoho Workplace, which rolls calendaring and notes into its webmail hosting service, Google Workspace breaks those capabilities out into their own separate apps, Calendar and Keep. As its name implies, Calendar is an online shared calendaring tool that integrates with Gmail, Drive, Contacts, Sites and Meet and enables you to share calendars. Keep is a note-taking service that facilitates team collaboration by enabling employees to share notes, lists, photos, audio and drawings, all in real time.

• Chat: An instant messaging platform that enables you to have one-on-one or group conversations and to share files and tasks across Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. Chat also integrates with Gmail, so you can simultaneously have multiple conversations across multiple channels.
• Currents: Internal enterprise communication platform designed to facilitate group discussions, support content management, break down silos and help employees stay connected.

Although Google Workspace doesn’t have a social intranet app like Zoho Workplace, it more than makes up for that by featuring a number of other apps that you can’t find in Zoho, including:

• Forms: Survey administration software that enables you to create custom forms for surveys and questionnaires by selecting from multiple questions, reordering questions using drag-and-drop functionality and customizing values.
• Sites: No-code development platform that enables you to choose from a large library of themes to create intelligently optimized websites.
• App Script: Low-code platform that enables you to build applications on top of Google Workspace in order to extend its functionality.
• Cloud Search: Advanced search functionality that enables you to search across all company content — including content in Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and more — in one go.
• Admin: Centralized administration platform that enables you to manage which users have access to which devices and configure additional security settings.
• Endpoint: Security platform that allows for agentless endpoint management, so you can keep company data safe even when employees use personal devices for business.
• Vault: Basic archiving and eDiscovery platform that enables you to enact data retention policies for different Google Workspace apps.
• Work Insights: Reporting tool that uses data visualizations and metrics to show your organization’s Google Workspace usage. Work Insights is designed to provide insight into user adoption, how your team collaborates and more.

Security & Privacy

When it comes to security, Zoho Workplace and Google Workplace are tied. Both software suites offer two-factor authentication, encryption at rest for email, data encryption at rest and in transit for file storage and TLS encryption, so, regardless which one you choose, you can rest easy at night knowing your data is secure.

It’s only when we look at privacy that things start to become less clear cut. As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, Google’s privacy policy is a bit murky, and the company has received its fair share of criticism for its data collection practices and user tracking. Zoho, by comparison, claims to have never sold users’ information for advertising and clearly explains how it collects and processes users’ data. Although this shouldn’t discourage interested parties from trying out Google Workspace, it is certainly something to keep in mind when choosing a collaboration suite.

Technical Support

In the battle over technical support, Google Workspace is the clear winner. Although Zoho Workplace offers an extensive knowledge base, which includes webinars, FAQs and user guides, as well as a self-service ticketing system, neither can hold a candle to Google’s 24/7 email, chat and phone support. On top of that, Google Workspace also boasts its own knowledge base, training certifications and customer support forums.

Cost & Storage

Both Zoho and Google offer multiple licensing plans for their respective office suites, each with a different storage allotment and capabilities relative to its price. They are as follows:

Zoho Workplace

	Cost	Storage
Forever Free	Free	5 GB per user (for up to 5 users)
Standard	$3/user/mo. (billed annually)	30 GB Mail storage per user 5 GB WorkDrive storage per user
Professional	$6/user/mo. (billed annually)	100 GB Mail storage per user 100 GB WorkDrive storage per user

It’s worth noting that Zoho also offers a Mail-only plan that starts at $1 per user, per month (billed annually). Organizations that opt to use this plan gain access to all of Zoho Mail’s features, including email hosting for multiple domains, email and folder sharing and offline access, as well as calendaring functionality.

Google Workspace

	Cost	Storage
Business Starter	$6/user/mo.	30 GB cloud storage per user
Business Standard	$12/user/mo.	2 TB cloud storage per user
Business Plus	$18/user/mo.	5 TB cloud storage per user
Enterprise	Pricing available upon request	Unlimited cloud storage

Zoho Workplace vs. Google Workspace at a Glance

	Zoho Workplace	Google Workspace
Mail	Zoho Mail	Gmail
Business Apps	·       Writer ·       Sheet ·       Show ·       WorkDrive ·       ShowTime ·       Meeting ·       Mail ·       Cliq ·       Connect	·       Docs ·       Sheets ·       Slides ·       Drive ·       Meet ·       Gmail ·       Chat ·       Currents ·       Forms ·       Sites ·       App Script ·       Cloud Search ·       Admin ·       Endpoint ·       Vault ·       Work Insights
Security	✓ Two-factor authentication ✓ Encryption at rest (for email) ✓ Encryption at rest and in transit (for file storage) ✓ TLS encryption	✓ Two-factor authentication ✓ Encryption at rest (for email) ✓ Encryption at rest and in transit (for file storage) ✓ TLS encryption
Privacy	Zoho does not sell user information for advertising and transparently outlines its data privacy policy.	Google has gained notoriety for privacy violations, and the company’s privacy policy is challenging to understand.
Technical Support	·       Knowledge base ·       Self-service ticketing system	·       24/7 email, chat and phone support ·       Knowledge base ·       Training certifications ·       Support forums
Storage	Forever Free — 5 GB per user Standard — 30 GB Mail storage per user; 5 GB WorkDrive storage per user Professional — 100 GB Mail storage per user; 100 GB WorkDrive storage per user	Business Starter — 30 GB cloud storage per user Business Standard — 2 TB cloud storage per user Business Plus — 5 TB cloud storage per user Enterprise — Unlimited cloud storage
Cost	Forever Free — Free Standard — $3/user/mo. Professional — $6/user/mo.	Business Starter — $6/user/mo. Business Standard — $12/user/mo. Business Plus — $18/user/mo. Enterprise — Pricing available upon request

Collaboration Suites & Archiving Solutions: A Match Made in Heaven

At the end of the day, it’s hard to point to a clear frontrunner. Though Zoho Workplace is certainly the more affordable option and earns points for its focus on privacy, one could argue that users get more bang for their buck with Google Workspace, which offers a larger array of apps and superior technical support. Ultimately, which option is best depends entirely on your organization’s unique needs.

Regardless whether you choose Zoho Workplace, Google Workspace or a different collaboration software suite, be sure to safeguard your most sensitive data — including emails, social media communications and text messages — by investing in an archiving solution. Archiving is essential for everything from complying with industry regulations to preparing for pending litigation, so it’s important that you choose a solution you can trust.

If you need help finding the right archiving solution, we recommend reading our eBook on the subject; it’s full of practical tips on what to look for in a solution and how to get the most mileage out of it. Or, if you’d prefer to someone directly, contact the specialists at Intradyn today — we’re here to assist with all of your archiving needs.