Google unveiled its latest series of updates to Workspace, its productivity and collaboration platform, on Thursday. This new batch of improvements concerns in particular the strengthening of the encryption of Google Meet videos. That’s not all: Google will also allow customers to embed Meet videos directly into Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. This integration will allow users to see their collaborators – as well as the documents they are collaborating on – under one tab.
With all of its communication and collaboration products integrated into a single suite, Google says it’s “of course betting big on Google Docs and Google Sheets as storage vehicles for all sorts of things.” “We are able to store all meeting artifacts using Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc. All of this is magically indexed by the Workspace search engine, so you can search all of this in a transparent way, ”says the American giant.
Improving security is an essential part of Google’s strategy. A logical position: companies will not adopt collaboration or storage tools that leave their content vulnerable. To this end, Google offers all Google Workspace customers optional end-to-end encryption for Google Meet meetings. In May, the American giant will also open access to client-side encryption (CSE) in Meet to some of its customers. Currently in beta, this feature should allow lucky winners direct control over encryption keys and the identity provider used to access those keys. This feature will be available to Business Plus, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus Workspace customers.
Similar features at Zoom?
The ability to add Meet videos directly to Docs, Sheets, and Slides will be available in the coming weeks. Users will be able to launch a meeting and embed it in a document, spreadsheet, or presentation. This will allow everyone in the meeting to collaborate while having a conversation. According to Google, the new feature should enable “the co-authoring experience in a real-time video call”.
While the collaborative work market is booming, following the rise of telecommuting and distance learning, it will not escape anyone that some of the new features unveiled by Google mimic features present on competing platforms such as Zoom. Next month, Meet users will be able to react in meetings with emojis. Google’s app will also offer picture-in-picture functionality for Chrome browser users. They will be able to see up to four meeting platform video tiles in a floating window on top of other apps.
Google also announced improvements to Google Meet’s live streaming features. Currently, Google Meet users can host meetings with up to 500 active participants, with the ability to stream to audiences of up to 100,000 in Google’s trusted domains Work space. Throughout the year, livestream participants will be able to participate in Q&As and polls. In addition, the American giant will also soon allow meeting organizers to broadcast them directly to YouTube from the Activities tab of Teams.
A companion on steroids
Improvements are also coming to Companion Mode, which first rolled out to Google Meet in November. This mode allows users to host or join a meeting from a conference room using their laptop, while using room audio and video. This makes it easier to share content, see presentations up close or use other functions, as remote participants do.
To improve the in-room experience, Google has started rolling out automatic noise cancellation across all Google Meet hardware, including Logitech, Acer, and Asus devices. Later this year, people in conference rooms will also be able to add their own personal video tile from companion mode and their laptop camera.
Google is also making improvements to Spaces, the work tool introduced last year. Spaces enables real-time collaboration between projects and topics and between different modalities, including email, chat, and meetings. A conversation can, for example, start with an email, but move on to a more collaborative space like Meet.
Last week, the American giant allowed Spaces users to invite others to join a space through a shared link and later this year it will allow users to search and join spaces. within an organization. The company has also improved search in Chat and Spaces to bring up relevant files and conversations. In the coming weeks, Spaces will offer online filtering, an important request from enterprise customers. Google is also working to make Spaces easier to share and discover, as the feature will support teams of up to 8,000 people. It will increase to 25,000 by the end of the year.
Source: ZDNet.com