Category: Google Hangouts Chat

Nearly a year after it was announced and almost all of that time in early adopter programs, Google’s Hangouts Chat is now generally available as a core service to G Suite customers.  It provides deep integration with the entire G Suite of apps for easy collaboration and sharing of files along with group and direct messaging capabilities.  There are also some 25 bots available starting today to further integrate with other solutions your organization may have in their portfolio.

The most direct comparison of Hangouts Chat in the market today is Slack and in many ways, the two messaging & collaboration solutions are equal.  But for G Suite customers, the advantage of Chat is that everything stays inter-domain which provides another layer of security.

Google Hangouts as we know it today is radically changing.  Not only is the app getting a major UI makeover, it is being split into two separate apps as Google repositions the app for the Enterprise.  I’m attending Google Cloud Next this week and the announcements around Google Hangouts are pretty exciting.  First, the app is being split into two distinct apps:  Hangouts Meet which is designed to be a collaboration and conferencing solution, and Hangouts Chat which is designed to be a Google Drive integrated chat and collaboration tool.  Together, along G Suite, provide a seamless way for people both in a company and outside of it to meet, collaborate and share information while removing the challenge of getting people involved with a simple one-tap ability to join a call.

The changes are aimed at cutting down the friction that enterprises have when it comes to setting up meetings and collaboration where content can be easily and freely shared.  These, tied to the new Jamboard whiteboard solution will allow the free flowing of content and information amongst team members.