Google takes on Microsoft Teams with the new Spaces in Google Workspace

Google today announced the availability of Spaces, a central place for team collaboration in Workspace for all users. You can consider Spaces as a lite version of Microsoft Teams or Slack.

Spaces are tightly integrated with Google Workspace tools like Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Tasks. Google also revealed that Spaces will get the following new features in the coming months:

• Streamlined navigation: A flexible user interface helps users easily access their inbox, chats, spaces and meetings—all from a single location—so they can stay on top of everything that’s important.
• Discoverable spaces: Spaces and their content can be made discoverable to all members of an organization, so other people can find and join the conversation. Administrators can also set discoverability as the default for their organization.
• Enhanced search: Allows users to easily find content from within and across spaces, or even discover new spaces to join. “Search everything” in spaces opens up powerful new collaboration possibilities and makes it easier to access the team’s collective knowledge base.
• In-line topic threading: The ability to reply to any message within a space fuels deeper discussions and collaboration across teams and organizations.
• Robust security & admin features: Tools for content moderation, managing spaces, and establishing the right rules for healthy communication across domains and companies.

Google today also announced that Google Meet calling is coming to Workspace. Google Meet calling will come first to one-to-one chats within the Gmail mobile app.

Source: Google