Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud.
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In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I’m speaking with John MacDonald, Global Director, Google Workspace Growth Strategy & Solutions, about the platform’s latest innovations and strategic direction.
Highlights
Navigating AI Adoption (01:16)
There’s been a demand for industry-specific AI use cases, particularly in retail and manufacturing. In terms of AI, anyone who had a desire to create content at a rapid pace was met with a little bit of adversity from certain industries as well, with folks saying, “You’re stealing the creative nature of my business. I’m a subject matter expert; it’s what I do for a living.”
But those early concerns led to valuable learnings, as many realized ideation could serve as a springboard, not a replacement. Personas definitely rose to the top — content creators, marketing, sales, and customer support emerged as early wins, where access to information and productivity tools led to rapid gains.
Compliance and governance were major factors in AI adoption, with certain industries needing assurance that AI solutions adhered to existing frameworks like HIPAA or SOC 1, 2, 3. Governance policies that have worked well in the past must evolve to meet these new technological opportunities.
GenAI, Security Advisor, and Video Assist Highlight New Products (04:57)
This week, Google Workspace made several exciting announcements, with customers particularly enthusiastic about trying GenAI. Initially, you had to “buy to try.” The introduction of the Gemini app with all of the security protections for base Workspace users was a phenomenal announcement. As one customer explained, “You’ve given me a pathway to now try this across my user base so I can actually create the business case for my executive to show utilization.”
Another significant update is the inclusion of video assist, Google Vids, within Workspace’s core functionality. This video assist AI tool allows people to quickly create narratives, templates for presentations, and high-quality videos for business cases or anything else they might need. Additionally, the introduction of Gems, a personal assistant with predefined templates for brainstorming, code generation, and more, lets users customize it to fit their specific needs, such as marketing campaigns.
Security advisor was another standout, reinforcing Google’s commitment to security. It offers businesses insights into potential vulnerabilities and areas for improvement. Notably, Google is providing this functionality to small and medium-sized businesses at no cost, emphasizing that security should be accessible to everyone.
Breakthrough Customer Innovations and AI-Driven Productivity Gains (08:47)
Google Workspace has been doing many proofs of concept (POCs). MacDonald has been a part of over 100 discussions with customers himself. On average, according to its own studies, Workspace can save about 105 minutes per employee per week. Seventy-six percent of folks who are just trying it for the first time over a series of weeks feel that they’re much more productive than they were previously.
These tools enable employees to do higher-value work, to upskill, and onboard new employees to be more productive with the flood of messaging coming in. It is fundamentally changing the way we all work. Over time, workers and companies might be at a disadvantage if they’re not leaning into these technologies.
By integrating these tools into a governed framework, companies can provide users with safe access while ensuring data ownership and proper use. Recent announcements aim to educate users about these technologies and their governance.
