Google has rolled back on its announcement to introduce a paywall for legacy G Suite users, instead announcing that legacy G Suite users could continue to keep their free access to their accounts and personalized domains and access to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Meet under the rebranded Google Workspace suite.
Before December 6, 2012, users could get a G Suite account for free that possessed a reduced number of business features. The free G Suite legacy server was notable in that it allowed for users to have email addresses that ended in their own domains rather than “@gmail.com”, making it an attractive option for freelancers and small companies who didn’t necessarily have the budget to pay for their own email domains.
Google announced earlier this year that the free access to G Suite for legacy users would end, offering them to transition to a paid Google Workspace account from that date or, alternatively, to join a waiting-list for a feeless option that doesn’t possess any premium features such as being able to use their custom domains or be able to manage multiple users. They have now rescinded this and G Suite legacy users will continue to access there files and applications at no charge.
Do You Need Extra Security Controls For Google Workspace?
While the decision to keep services free for legacy users is a welcome one, the shift to Google Workspace is not without its problems. Extra security controls are usually necessary, as we recommend that organizations implement a extra layer of email security on top of the protection Workspace offers natively. This helps to prevent harmful email reaching your and your employee’s inboxes, which could leave you and your business at risk. Secure email gateways provide email monitoring for ingoing and outgoing mail. They’re useful in filtering out spam, phishing attempts, and malware–areas where Workspace may be lacking.
Check out our recommendations for the best emails security gateways on the market, where we go in depth on what each of the top vendors industry offer and what sets them apart from their competitors:
