With the Rise of Remote Work... Google G Suite Surpasses 6 Million Paid Customers

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] As remote work and online classes have spread worldwide due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the number of paid customers for Google's cloud-based collaboration tool G Suite has surged. The usage rate of Google Meet, a video conferencing tool, increased by 25% compared to January.

According to the economic media CNBC on the 7th (local time), Javier Soltero, Vice President of Google leading G Suite, announced that as of last March, the total number of paid customers including companies, governments, and schools exceeded 6 million. This represents about a 20% increase from 5 million in February last year in just over a year.

G Suite is a service that enables online collaboration using Google's services such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, document tools, and Chat. It allows document creation and approvals through collaboration regardless of location, making it an essential service for remote work. CNBC also mentioned Microsoft (MS) Office 365 as a competitor to G Suite, noting the intense competition.

Soltero, a former MS employee, said in an interview with CNBC, "Honestly, it is growing at an astonishing speed." Recently, as more people stay at home due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of people making video calls through Google Meet, a program included in G Suite, is also increasing. He added that the number of Google Meet users increased by 25% compared to January. Google Meet is a video conferencing tool separate from Hangouts, which can be accessed and used for free with just a Google ID.

CNBC reported that "competing platforms such as Webex, Zoom, and MS Teams have also seen new users increase in recent months," and that as New York City recommended limiting the use of Zoom amid the 'Zoom bombing' controversy, schools using Google Classroom and Google Meet have increased.

Google originally planned to provide video conferencing features free of charge to G Suite customers until July 1 but now plans to extend this free provision until September 30.