Strategic Google Workspace setup, migration, and management for businesses that prefer Google. From Cloud Identity through to Drive architecture, security baselines, and ongoing admin.
Let's talk WorkspaceGoogle Workspace has half a dozen editions and most businesses end up on the wrong one. We work out which edition you actually need (Business Starter through Enterprise Plus) before recommending anything else.
2-Step Verification enforcement, context-aware access, SSO, Cloud Identity configuration, and proper admin role separation. The boring foundations that stop you getting breached at 2am.
Google Vault is a discovery and retention tool, not a backup. We add proper third-party backup, configure Vault correctly for your retention obligations, and make sure recovery actually works when you need it.
Google Workspace is genuinely brilliant when set up properly. The interface is clean, collaboration is natural, and admin is simpler than its competitors. We work with businesses who want Google done well, whether starting from scratch or fixing what's already there.
Google Workspace fits creative agencies, design studios, and Mac-heavy teams better than Microsoft 365 in most cases. Cleaner integration with macOS, simpler collaboration on Drive, and less Windows-shaped friction. We've supported plenty of these teams.
Going from Microsoft 365 to Google is rarer than the reverse but it happens, especially for companies acquiring Google-native teams or shifting away from Microsoft licensing complexity. We handle email, files, identity, and calendars cleanly.
Started with a few users, added shared drives, kept stacking permissions, never reviewed groups or admin roles. We tidy this up: editions, security baselines, sharing policies, group structure, and proper admin governance.
Growing companies hit Workspace governance problems early. Context-aware access, data loss prevention, Vault retention, mobile device management, and the kind of compliance work that pre-empts audits.
Most SMEs don't need a full-time Workspace admin. We provide ongoing admin support: user lifecycle, licence management, security monitoring, and policy maintenance, on a retained basis.
Greenfield Workspace setup or audit and remediation of existing tenants. Includes domain configuration, security baseline, and edition structure.
Microsoft 365, Exchange, IMAP, other Workspace tenants, hosted email. We've done them all. Google Workspace Migrate, third-party tools, or native admin where appropriate.
Cloud Identity configuration, 2-Step Verification enforcement, SSO setup, context-aware access policies, and proper admin role hierarchy.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC, advanced phishing and malware protection, attachment scanning, and external sender warnings. The defaults are not enough.
Sensible Drive structure, shared drive design, sharing policies that work, and migration from chaotic legacy setups. Drive is brilliant when designed properly and a mess when left to grow itself.
Meet recording policies, Chat federation rules, Spaces structure, and governance for new space creation. Mostly invisible work that prevents future mess.
Third-party Workspace backup with proper retention, restore testing, and recovery runbooks. Vault configured correctly for legal hold and discovery, not as a substitute for backup.
Retained Workspace admin support: user lifecycle, edition optimisation, security monitoring, policy maintenance, and quarterly health checks.
We've run Google Workspace alongside Microsoft 365 across multiple agencies for over a decade, supported Mac-heavy creative teams who live in Drive, and remediated tenants where someone added everyone to every shared drive at some point in 2019. Workspace is one of the cleanest collaboration platforms available to SMEs, and one of the easiest to misconfigure if you don't know what you're doing. We've seen what good looks like, what bad looks like, and how to fix bad without disrupting the team.
Most Workspace work falls into three patterns. Migration projects are typically scoped, fixed-price engagements running 4-10 weeks depending on complexity. Tenant remediation work is similar, scoped against an audit. Ongoing Workspace admin is retained at a monthly rate, typically half a day to two days per month depending on user count and complexity. We can also embed Workspace work inside a fractional CTO engagement where strategic IT leadership and platform management need to sit together.
Existing tenant review (or current platform if you're migrating). We map editions, security posture, identity setup, and usage patterns. No assumptions, just data.
Specific, scoped work with clear outcomes and timelines. No "we'll see how it goes". You get a plan you can actually approve.
The work gets done properly. Documentation goes with it. You either run it yourself afterwards, or we manage it ongoing, but you always have the option.
Depends on size and source platform, but typical migrations are 4-8 weeks end to end. That includes planning, tenant setup, identity migration, mail and file migration, training, and cutover. Larger or more complex environments take longer. Microsoft 365 to Workspace migrations sometimes take longer than the reverse because tooling is less mature.
Honest answer: it depends on your business. Mac-heavy creative teams and small businesses that value clean collaboration usually fit Google better. Windows-heavy organisations, regulated industries, and businesses with complex identity or compliance needs usually fit Microsoft better. We do both, and we'll tell you which one suits your business rather than which one we'd rather sell. See our Microsoft 365 page if M365 is the better fit.
Depends on what you actually use. Business Starter is fine for small teams that mostly need email and Drive. Business Standard adds meeting recording and more storage. Business Plus adds Vault and advanced endpoint management. Enterprise editions add data loss prevention, advanced security, and compliance features. We always do an edition review before recommending.
No. Vault is a discovery, retention, and legal hold tool, not a backup. It's brilliant for what it does (regulatory compliance, eDiscovery, retention policy enforcement) but it's not designed for restoring accidentally deleted files or recovering from ransomware. You need proper third-party Workspace backup as well as Vault, not instead of it.
Yes. Most clients take ongoing admin support after migration, typically half a day to two days per month depending on size and complexity. This covers user provisioning, edition optimisation, security monitoring, policy maintenance, and incident response.
Same Workspace practice, honed for your area. Local on-site visits where it helps, remote-first delivery.
Have a conversation about whether we're the right fit. No hard sell, no jargon. Just a straight conversation about what's actually broken or what you're trying to build.