Google has come a long way from the days when it was just a simple search engine. First, there was Gmail (remember when you had to be invited to have an account?), then Google Calendar, and next Google Docs — now it seems as though Google practically has an app for everything.
However, despite the many functions of various Google-based apps, it can still be difficult to coordinate the work you do with different programs. That’s why project management software with Google integrations is the key to keeping all of your Google-needs in one place.
Think of an ideal project management platform as the mortar that holds a lot of individual bricks together. The bricks represent Google’s tools — they might all come from the same place, but they won’t work in tandem with each other unless you use something to keep them connected.
Why are Google Integrations Essential for Project Managers?
First of all, let’s take a look at why the best project management tools out there need to provide support for Google. After all, there are plenty of programs out there that can let you type up documents— why is it so important that you use Google’s offerings?
Google leads the way in several areas that are critical to facilitating efficient and productive work, but the most obvious one is also the simplest: user-friendly design. Some project managers consider factors such as aesthetics and ease of use to be of little importance when choosing tools, but in reality the way an app looks and feels has an incredible impact on the person using it.
G-Suite features simple but eye-catching icons, and familiar layouts that allow new users to start working quickly without having to overcome a significant learning curve. Better yet is the fact that G-Suite apps all come from a single source — they’re designed to work in tandem with one another, completely eliminating compatibility issues and making it easy to use multiple apps for a project that demands several different kinds of work (ie. spreadsheeting and document creation for marketing campaigns).
Google & The Workforce: Facts and Statistics
Anyone harbouring skepticism about G-Suite’s usefulness would do well to look at the numbers on the subject — because they speak for themselves. Here are just a few statistics that show how vital Google apps are to modern businesses:
* One in five companies currently use Google Apps.
* 24.29% of American workers use Gmail during business hours.
* The number of businesses paying to use G-Suite programs has doubled in the last two years.
* Only 12% of students use Google Docs to write papers alone — but 78% use it when they collaborate.
* Office workers who use cloud-based technology are expected to grow in number by 28.5% each year, reaching an estimated market of 695 million users by 2022.
The implications of this data are clear: Google is already one of the frontrunners in a sector that is poised to become all but indispensable to collaborative workers in the next few years, so it’s critical that competitive businesses start finding ways to make the best possible use of their apps as soon as possible.
Improving Connectivity Between G-Suite Users
All that being said, there are some things the G-Suite can’t do by itself. Firstly, importing documents into the system can be slightly time-consuming and cumbersome. Secondly, the basic G-Suite offers limited tools for managing teams of people who are using its various apps to collaborate on group projects.
Fortunately, specific project management programs have been built to address these concerns. Gryffin is one such tool — originally designed as an in-house project management tool for a digital marketing company that needed to find a better way to work. Today, it’s offered publicly as a platform that organizes and tracks the work of organizations who rely on G-Suite apps. Gryffin comes integrated directly with Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. It also includes its own powerful administrative and analytics tools so that people working in G-Suite can collaborate with greater ease and work more efficiently.
Using G-Suite alone, it can take quite a lot of work to organize a group project. Here’s an example: let’s say you’re working for an online publication and you have an article to write. Your process might look something like this:
* You receive an email in Gmail with the assignment.
* You open Google Docs and write the assignment, or manually import a document that you’ve written using a third-party app.
* When your work is finished, you can submit it in one of the following ways: by downloading a copy and attaching it to another email, or by using the “Share” button in Google Docs and sending invites to the intended recipient.
* The recipient will either have to download the finished assignment from the email you sent them, or accept your invitation before they will be able to access the document.
That approach works, but it can be time-consuming. A strong project management tool with G-Suite integration will function like a virtual office, allowing team members to access work done in any Google apps without leaving the platform’s interface and having to switch programs or return to the desktop.
Conversely, here’s what completing the same task would look like in Gryffin:
* Create a project directly from your email.
* The project will have a document URL to Google docs shared with your teammates on the project.
* When you’ve completed the task, simply assign the next person on your team to review.
Such differences might not seem critical at first glance, but consider the nature of project management for a moment. It’s entire purpose is to save time and streamline workflows. The best project managers know that mere seconds add up quickly. When the success of your company depends on completing large numbers of small tasks faster than your competitors, it pays to eliminate every unnecessary step.
Gryffin: More Than Just For Google Integrations
Gryffin comes with a lot more features — things you won’t find in any competing project management software. Not only can users track recurring tasks automatically, but they can also take care of more complex actions like invoicing within the tool itself.
There are standard features too, like team chat, file sharing and a notification system. These are tucked into menus and sidebars on a clear interface that prevents the app from feeling overcrowded and makes it easy to focus on the specific task at hand.
One of the reasons why Gryffin might have taken shape so differently from other project management platforms is that it wasn’t originally intended to be a product. It was developed to solve pain points . The Gryffin developers weren’t thinking about selling points; they were building their program around features they thought their team members would actually need. The result just happened to be a platform that improved on most existing project management tools.
More and more offices are coming to rely on Google’s software to help them complete their work — especially in the age of the mobile workforce. Project management tools that offer easy and intuitive integration with Google’s apps will probably be the most broadly useful ones and the best investments as this trend continues to change the way we do business.