The outage of internal communication and productivity tools like Microsoft 365 poses significant risks for companies, potentially disrupting business operations. For companies obligated to adhere to BaFin guidelines, having a fallback collaboration solution is even legally required as part of their IT contingency management. Learn more in this blog post about how to implement a business continuity solution with Google Workspace and PCG, providing higher security with minimal effort.
Possible causes of failure
First, let's consider what might lead to a disruption. It generally falls into two categories:
- Issues with your existing provider: Regardless of promises of high availability in contracts, no provider is immune to outages.
- Compromise of your deployed applications: This can be the result of a ransomware attack, for example.
If you're not adequately prepared for these scenarios, they can have significant adverse effects on your company.
Risks without a business continuity solution
If any of these scenarios occur, your company may face substantial costs. Inability to send or receive emails or chat messages typically affects nearly all aspects of operations. The same applies to creating and editing documents. If these essential tasks become impossible, the consequences can be severe.
Furthermore, the potential damage to your company's reputation should not be underestimated. Inability to address customer and partner inquiries can harm your image and erode trust in the long run.
In the worst-case scenario, both of these situations can pose an existential threat. This highlights the importance of considering a fallback collaboration solution within your business continuity management—a solution that can be activated quickly and easily when needed.
Benefits of Business Continuity
A robust business continuity management approach helps minimise damage, prevent high costs, and safeguard your company's reputation.
With the ability to maintain communication and collaboration during a crisis, the impact is far less dramatic. Depending on the specific circumstances, it may be advisable to provide the fallback solution to all employees or a predetermined group. This group can then handle additional measures.
Thanks to automated and standardised processes, the solution can be activated swiftly and initiated at the push of a button.
Google Workspace as a cloud native collaboration solution
Google Workspace's cloud-based applications offer comprehensive tools for everyday work. They are designed for cloud use and are user-friendly. Many companies, including Viessmann, flaconi, or HelloFresh, rely on Google Workspace as their primary collaboration solution. Moreover, users are often already familiar with tools like Gmail or Google Drive from their personal lives, making them easy to use during a crisis without the need for training.
Project implementation with PCG
As a long-standing Google Cloud Premier Partner, we have already supported numerous companies in introducing and efficiently using Google Workspace. With our proven project process and experienced cloud experts a fallback collaboration solution is usually implemented in a few weeks. Together with you, we clarify the following points, among others:
- Which individuals should have Google Workspace activated in the event of an existing system outage?
- Which files need synchronisation from your existing solution?
- Testing for emergencies and ongoing system maintenance.
Testimonial from a Satisfied Customer:
Jakob Jellbauer, VP Cloud, Virtualization, and Enterprise Architecture at Software AG, shares his experience:
"While longer outages or successful attacks on critical collaboration tools are rare, they are not impossible. Professional internal and external communication and collaboration are essential, especially in such cases. That's why we introduced Google Workspace as a fallback solution.
We chose PCG as an experienced Google Cloud Partner who provided excellent support during the implementation."
Get Started Now
Enhance your company's resilience with Google Workspace as a business continuity solution. Contact us today to learn more.