Ostratto - Blog | Ostratto #google workspaceOstratto - Blog | Ostratto #google workspacehttps://www.ostratto.com/blogs/tag/google-workspaceSun, 16 Aug 2026 22:22:27 +0200http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Google Workspace's Latest AI Features and Pricing Updates]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/google-workspace-latest-ai-features-and-pricing-updatesRecent updates have brought significant advancements in AI-powered features, alongside adjustments to pricing. Here's a breakdown of what these changes mean for you and your business.]]>


Google Workspace continues to evolve, offering new tools to streamline collaboration and enhance productivity for businesses of all sizes. Google has announced these updates in detail on their blog, showcasing significant advancements in AI-powered features and adjustments to pricing. Here's a breakdown of what these changes mean for you and your business.


graphic showing google ai promo

AI Features to Boost Productivity

Google Workspace is embracing AI to make everyday tasks simpler and smarter. Here are some of the standout enhancements:

  • Help Me Write in Gmail and Docs: Drafting emails or documents is now quicker than ever. With "Help Me Write," users can generate, refine, or even rephrase content, saving time and ensuring clarity.
  • Smart Summaries in Google Meet: Missed a meeting? AI-powered summaries provide concise overviews of key points, so you can catch up without reviewing the entire session.
  • AI Insights in Sheets: Leveraging machine learning, Google Sheets now offers advanced data analysis, identifying trends and generating insights automatically.
  • Enhanced Security Tools: AI-driven detection mechanisms help identify and mitigate security threats, such as phishing attempts and suspicious account activity.
  • Gemini Advanced: Chat with Google’s next-gen AI to research information, brainstorm ideas, and streamline your most demanding projects.
  • NotebookLM Plus: Accelerate team knowledge sharing by uploading your sources to get instant insights and podcast-like Audio Overviews. This enhanced version offers notebook customisation, advanced sharing and 5x more Audio Overviews, queries, notebooks, and sources.

These features align with Google’s goal of enabling teams to work smarter, not harder.

Learn more

How These Changes Impact Your Business

Cost Considerations
While pricing has increased, the added functionality could reduce the need for additional third-party tools, potentially balancing costs.
Streamlined Collaboration

Enhanced features like Smart Summaries and AI in Sheets make it easier for teams to stay aligned, even across time zones.

Improved Efficiency

With AI taking care of routine tasks, your team can focus on high-impact projects.



​​Pricing Updates

With these powerful new tools comes a revision to pricing. Google has introduced a new pricing structure to reflect the value of these enhancements. While price changes are never ideal, Google’s continued investment in innovation ensures that your subscription offers more value than ever.

As an example, a customer using the Workspace Business Standard plan with a Gemini Business add-on previously paid $32 per user, per month. Now, that same business would pay just $14 per user, per month — only $2 more than they were paying for Workspace without Gemini.

​​Here are the new standard prices in GBP, per user/per month.

Business Starter Business Standard Business Plus  Enterprise Standard Enterprise Plus
Flexible£7.00£ 14.00£ 22.00£ 27.10£ 35.30
Annual/Commit£ 5.90£ 11.80£ 18.40£ 22.60£ 29.50


These prices exclude applicable taxes. For alternative currencies, please contact your contact at Ostratto or the pricing can be found on Google's pricing pages.


Your Next Steps

As a Google Workspace partner, we’re committed to helping you maximize the benefits of these updates. Whether it’s navigating the new AI tools or understanding cost implications, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Google Workspace’s commitment to innovation is evident in its recent AI features, which promise to transform how businesses operate. While the pricing adjustments may require some budgeting considerations, the enhanced functionality and productivity gains are well worth it in our opinion.

If you have any questions or need assistance navigating these updates, we're here to help.
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You will continue to have access to the add-on and its included features until these services are available in the Google Workspace Business and Enterprise editions. You will no longer be charged for the add-on subscription after January 31, 2025.


As a result of these updates, we are making changes to your existing Gemini order starting January 31, 2025. These changes include: 

  • You will no longer be charged for the add-on after January 31, 2025. You may receive a £0 invoice depending on your billing setup.
  • Prepaid contracts credited and prorated. If you have prepaid for your Gemini for Workspace subscription, we will ensure you are credited and will prorate the credit as of February 1, 2025. Credits will be automatically applied to future subscription invoices.
  • No longer renewing paid Gemini for Workspace add-on orders. As Gemini for Workspace add-on features are being introduced to Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans, the Gemini for Workspace add-ons are no longer available for purchase or renewal.
  • Converting Gemini for Workspace add-on online annual plans to flexible plans. In order to ensure you will no longer be charged for the Gemini for Workspace add-on, We'll be switching your subscription to a £0 monthly flexible plan subscription or cancelling the Gemini add-on subscription entirely after January 31, 2025.

These features were previously available only to users with a Gemini for Google Workspace Add-on, but will now be included with Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans. You will see these features added to your subscription in the coming days/weeks - many of you will already be able to access the new features.


At this time the features are being added to all accounts as standard, core features and so organisations cannot opt out of the new features, or the associated price increase.


There are currently methods to control access to them for your users.


​​Starting January 16, 2025, any new subscriptions - including subscription downgrades, upgrades, and plan type changes - are subject to the updated prices.

Price changes for existing Google Workspace subscriptions will begin no sooner than March 1st, 2025. 

Customers with an applicable Workspace Business or Enterprise edition are subject to the price change, but the timing of your price change will depend on your payment plan, number of user licenses, and other factors. For example, pricing for existing Google Workspace subscriptions with 10 or fewer user licenses will change at a later date.

For existing customers, pricing adjustments are applicable to Workspace Business and Enterprise plans after any applicable discount period ends. If you have an Annual/Fixed-term plan, your subscription price will not change until the end of your current commitment term.

If you have a subscription on the Flexible Plan, you may want to consider switching your subscription to the Annual/Fixed-Term plan for the lowest monthly per user price. You can switch from the Flexible Plan to the Annual Plan by contacting us.


Primary admins that are affected by an upcoming pricing change will receive an email notification at least 30 days before the change goes into effect.
Google Workspace continues to offer strong value, especially with the inclusion of AI-powered features such as “Help Me Write” and Smart Summaries at minimal additional cost. 

Microsoft has also recently announced price increases for its personal product offerings to accommodate their AI enhancements, with business editions likely to follow suit.

AI is here to stay - we see this is a positive addition to the Google Workspace package which will introduce AI to many businesses whom may have been unsure how to utilise AI and where to begin.
Contact us
]]>Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:54:32 +0000<![CDATA[Case Study: Supporting High Quality Care with Website Design, Google Workspace, Zoho People and Vonage]]>https://www.ostratto.com/blogs/post/case-study-supporting-high-quality-careOur approach in helping a specialised care provider modernise and excel using Website Design, Google Workspace, Zoho People, and Vonage.]]>
BBcare10 is a care provider based in Gloucestershire, UK, specialising in bespoke support for young people and adults with complex care needs. With increasing demand for their sought-after care services, BBcare10 faced challenges due to aging technical systems and tools. These limitations hindered growth and restricted service capacity.

The initial engagement with BBcare10 focused on creating a modern, optimised website design to align with their planned marketing efforts. During the consultation, we uncovered other technical pain points, including unreliable email systems, the use of mobile numbers for business enquiries, manual paper-based shift rotas, and difficulties onboarding new staff.


At the time of the inquiry, BBcare10 had a team of 4. Today, they’ve grown to a team of 24 and are actively recruiting. Here’s how we supported their growth with professional services tailored to their needs.

The Task

With the demand growing for BBcare10's high-quality care service, existing systems were causing instability and limiting growth.


To meet the demands of required service, BBcare10's systems needed an overhaul. Systems implemented needed to be simple to maintain, reliable and scalable to meet the onboarding expectation.


Simple

Systems must be intuitive to use, minimising training requirements.

Maintained

Solutions had to work seamlessly across a mobile, dispersed workforce without requiring heavy maintenance.

Reliable

With 24/7 care services, system downtime was not an option.

Scalable

Solutions needed to grow alongside BBcare10's expanding team and operations.

Secure by Design

It was also vital that systems were secure by design. With sensitive client records being involved - all data needed to be strictly access-controlled and on a 'zero-trust' basis. All solutions were implemented with this at the forefront of importance.

Products and Services Featured

Leveraging our wide range of products and services, we implemented the correct tools to achieve the objective.

Website Design

A professionally designed business website was developed to serve as a hub for staff and customer information.

View Product

Google Workspace

Google Workspace became the backbone of BBcare10’s operations, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration across the organization.

View Product

Zoho People

Zoho People streamlined HR operations, simplifying the onboarding process and managing employee information efficiently.

View Product

Vonage

Vonage transformed business communications by introducing a local landline number, which diverted to mobile devices for accessibility and reliability.

View Product

Professional Services

Our team provided end-to-end professional services, including design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance, tailored to BBcare10’s unique needs.

View Service

Implementation

The entire approach was then designed around these requirements, plus a few extras that would enhance the solution.

Simple

Google Workspace unified communication and productivity tools, restoring confidence in email reliability with Gmail’s 99.99% uptime. A single Google account allowed quick and intuitive access to all BBcare10 systems. 


Following initial workshop training, team members required minimal ongoing support thanks to Google Workspace’s user-friendly design.


Maintained

Chromebooks were deployed to mobile team members, enabling them to complete shift notes securely using digital forms on the company website. 


Centralized management via Google Workspace ensured updates and security without manual intervention. With cloud-hosted systems like the website and Zoho People, improvements were implemented seamlessly with no downtime.

Reliable

Cloud-based solutions ensured consistent performance and communication reliability. Gone were the days of missed emails or team communication breakdowns. 


BBcare10 now operates with dependable tools, vital for their 24/7 service schedule.

Scalable

With systems designed around Google Workspace, onboarding a new team member now takes minutes. Zoho People further streamlined the process, automating document requests and saving valuable time. Scalability is now embedded into BBcare10’s operations.

Secure

Data security is paramount for BBcare10. Sensitive patient information is stored in Google Drive, with strict access controls and audit tracking. Chromebooks ensure no local data remains after a user logs out, adhering to zero-trust principles and guaranteeing compliance.

Result

With 24 team members and growing, BBcare10 now serves over 30 regular clients and delivers more than 320 shifts monthly. Their investment in cutting-edge systems has significantly improved efficiency, expanded service capacity, and streamlined onboarding processes. These enhancements have directly contributed to their ability to meet increasing demand while maintaining exceptional care standards.


The implementation of the correct systems and tools has resulted in BBcare10 vastly improving efficiency, communication, service capacity and onboarding times, ultimately enabling business growth.


Although initially only contacted for website design services, BBcare10 and Ostratto now work together on an ongoing basis to constantly improve systems and processes across the business.

Efficiency Improved​
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Staff Onboarding Streamlined
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Service Capacity Increased
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Why Choose Ostratto?


At Ostratto, we specialise in solving complex business challenges with innovative solutions like Website Design, Google Workspace, Zoho People, and Vonage. Our customer-focused approach ensures we deliver scalable, secure, and reliable systems tailored to your needs.


Be sure to check out other examples of how we have helped businesses make their work, less work. Contact us today to learn more about our professional services and discover how we can help your business grow.

Chat with us today
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