In 2022 alone, Google added over 300 new features to Google Workspace. The service is now so much richer than it was when first unveiled, the manufacturer has updated its price list. The good news it, there are several ways to prevent your bills from growing.
Google Workspace prices – what is changing?
Over the past few months, Google introduced many administrative and security functions designed for large enterprises. To match the value of the package, the company has increased the price of its Google Workspace Enterprise Standard (both the flexible plan and annual subscription). If you want to hedge against growing costs, you need to renew your agreement by the end of 2023.
Higher prices will also affect Google Workspace Business Starter, Google Workspace Business Standard and Google Workspace Business Plus plans. They will, however, only pertain to the flexible plan, which allow clients to add and remove user accounts at any point in the agreement’s term.
Updated price list for Google Workspace Business plans:
When will new Google Workspace prices come into effect?
The updated price list is going to affect new clients from March 14, 2023.
Companies already using Google Workspace won’t see any changes until April 11, 2023.
At the same time, Google stated unequivocally that for companies with 1-10 Google Workspace accounts, the price of service will not increase before January 2024.
When a company pays the updated prices depends on several factors, including the number of licences, payment plan and the terms of the current agreement.
How can I avoid paying more?
There are several options to hedge your company from rising prices. You could analyse the rather complicated price list of all the Google Workspace variants. You could also take advantage of the advice and experience of a local Google Cloud partner, like FOTC. Below you will find a few of the ways in which our specialists optimised our clients’ accounts.
Free needs analysis and assistance in reducing costs.
Upgrade your plan
Let’s not forget that cost optimisation is not always about lowering the price, but about achieving the best value for money. After analysing the new price lists, our experts realised that the best solution for some companies is in fact upgrading their plan.
We are talking about organisations that use Google Workspace Business Starter and would like to move their licences to the Business Standard plan (in order to gain 2 TB of disk space on Google Drive and be able to record in Meet).
When moving from Business Starter to Business Standard, as a partner, we can offer a two- or a three-year contract. At a time when software prices keep growing, having a guaranteed price for the next 36 months can be a great opportunity for companies to conserve resources.
Change currency
Just because you run your business in the UK, does not mean you have to pay for Google Workspace with British pounds. You can choose other currencies too (e.g. the dollar or the euro). Sometimes, changing the currency of your payments can lower the bill itself.
Switch to an annual subscription
The simplest way to freeze the price is to change your plan from flexible to annual. The switch should be done before April 11, and preferably – by the end of March (the agreement needs time to be processed, and the beginning of April is a bank holiday because of Easter).
Remember that with a fixed term subscription, the payments are calculated monthly. However, you will need to declare the number of licences you are going to use. You can buy additional licences during your agreement period but you cannot decrease their number (which means you cannot lower your monthly payment – you will get that opportunity for renewing your contract).
This solution is best suited for companies well established in the market, with a stable number of employees and unaffected by seasonal payroll changes.
Switch some employees to a cheaper package (flexible plan)
If the number of your employees fluctuates – depending on the season or the number of projects you carry out –or you are apprehensive about a commitment for over a year for other reasons, we have an alternative solution for you. As a Google Cloud partner, we can prepare a mixed offer for you.
In practice, members of your organisation can use different subscriptions within each Google Workspace edition. In other words, you can mix your packages within the Business edition (Starter, Standards, Plus) OR within Enterprise edition (Standard and Plus).
It is therefore worth taking a good look at what your organisation needs, so that your team can work uninterrupted, and your bills remain low. Our experts will assist you in determining how many licences you can switch to a more cost-effective package to ensure that your organisation remains unscathed.
If only a part of your team uses advanced Google app functions, and the rest uses only the basic ones, this solution might be the best for you.
Mix and match
If you think that a package mix is a suitable solution for you, but you would rather move fewer licences, you can go one step further. After dividing your licences into two distinct packages, you can leave one of them on the flexible plan, and the other with an annual subscription. If you prefer the flexibility to manage accounts at a higher level, you can move the smaller package to an annual subscription. But if you want to reduce the number of accounts easily – you can do the opposite.
Switch to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard
Finally, a solution for companies that are nearing the 300 account limit, which means that soon they will be forced to switch to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard. As mentioned earlier, prices are going to change both for the flexible and the annual plan for this package.
However, if you upgrade by the end of March 2023, you can sign your new agreement at current prices, and in select cases FOTC can offer a discount of between 15 and 40%.
Trust an experienced partner
At FOTC, we manage close to 150,000 Google Workspace licences. This means that we have assisted thousands of companies in selecting the best Google Workspace packages and plans for their specific needs. The examples provided are only a small fraction if the many ways the service can be customised. Schedule a free consultation with our specialist and check what solutions we will find for your company.
