G Suite by Google

G Suite, which used to be known as "Google Apps for Work" and "Google Apps for Your Domain", is a package consisting of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google for businesses. By using G Suite for your business, you will have access to a range of powerful Google applications: Docs, Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Keep, Forms, Hangouts and Hangouts Meet. Users may already be familiar with these apps thanks to the popular free Gmail offer, but only with G Suite do you get the full business versions of all of these tools, and are able to incorporate your company's name into your email address instead of being bound to the usual gmail.com.

IONOS offers a Basic and Business pricing plan so you can select which one is best for your business.

The first step is to purchase G Suite. In the control panel, you will need to set up the first admin user account and domain to use with the G Suite account. The next step is to go to the G Suite login (admin.google.com) and get started. You can then configure G Suite to fit your exact business needs via the admin console. Here are some ways in which you can customise your account:

• Create additional users and set access rights

• Add secondary domains

• Personalise the dashboard with company information

• Customise the settings to fit your and your employees' needs

You can use G Suite Sync for Microsoft Outlook to synchronise your account with Outlook. This enables you to access the synchronised information in Outlook on any device on which you use your G Suite account.

Once you've downloaded G Suite Sync, you must restart Microsoft Outlook when prompted. Since a new profile is created, your previous Outlook settings won't be saved. The import process might take a while, depending on how many emails you have in your G Suite account. You will receive a notification when the import process is finished, alongside a test email from the G Suite Sync team once your G Suite account has been successfully synced with Outlook. You are now able to use Microsoft Outlook to send G Suite emails.

Yes. The people behind G Suite are committed to compliance with the GDPR – this can be seen in this article on Google Cloud & the General Data Protection Regulation. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and came into force in May 2018. All companies collecting data must be endorsed by three principles: data security, transparency of storage and use of data, and users' access to their data management.

Google G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 offer professional business email and productivity tools for easier collaboration. G Suite's tools include (among others) Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Keep, Calendar and Hangouts, whereas Office 365 has Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Note, Skype and other Microsoft apps.

IONOS offers two packages, with the Business package providing unlimited storage (only if more than 5 users, otherwise 1 TB of storage for each user). Office 365 offers three business packages, which all come with 1 TB of cloud storage and two of the plans come with 50 GB of email storage.

When it comes to ease of use, G Suite has better admin controls and web and mobile apps, whereas Office 365 has better desktop apps. Both rate highly in the security department: both have cloud security protection, data loss and leak prevention, as well as built-in spam, virus and unusual activity detection. G Suite boasts two-factor authentication and Office 365 comes with multi-factor authentication. For a detailed comparison on both products, check out this article comparing G Suite to Office 365 to help you decide which is better when it comes to G Suite vs. Office 365.

It depends. Although G Suite has been optimised for use within a business setting, it could be the right choice for you if you want to upgrade and are looking for extended features such as a custom email address with your own domain, the option for unlimited cloud storage (depending on plan and number of members), additional administrative tools and advanced settings, as well as 24/7 phone and email support, G Suite may be the right choice for you.

Gmail is great if you're using it for personal use and therefore don't mind the @gmail.com domain. However, you probably prefer something more professional to represent your business, which is why the personalised domain (name@yourcompany.com) you get with G Suite is more appropriate. G Suite also provides user management and admin features for multiple users, which is especially important in case an employee leaves the company since it means the data doesn't leave with them. G Suite offers double the amount of storage that Gmail does: 15 GB compared to 30 GB/1 TB/unlimited (depending on the plan). Documents are shared securely thanks to the rights management meaning it's impossible to accidentally share data outside of the company. Another advantage of G Suite when it comes to security is that there are additional security options such as two-factor authentication to make sure there is no unauthorised access to your account.

Users can take advantage of 24/7 support and an uptime of 99.9%. G Suite can be customised with your own company logo and, as previously mentioned, can be synced with Microsoft Outlook so you can access G Suite emails on any device that you've connected.

The free Gmail version is not designed with a business setup in mind so if you want as many features as possible to help your company flourish, it makes sense to pay a small sum each month for G Suite.

The two G Suite editions comprise Basic and Business and all come with 24/7 support. Both of these plans enable you to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, and connect with others through business email (Gmail), video and voice conferencing, secure team messaging and shared calendars.

As well as the features mentioned above, you get 30 GB storage with G Suite Basic, the cheapest of the packages. G Suite Business edition provides you with an enhanced office suite with unlimited storage and archiving, and unlike with free Gmail, G Suite users aren't subjected to advertisements and administrators can personalise security and privacy settings.

It is a flexible payment plan, and you're able to add and delete users at any time.