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Enable Google Services

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

  • Enable services at the organization level.
  • Enable services at the Organizational Unit level.
  • Enable services using Google Groups.
Note

This module was produced in collaboration with Google, which owns, supports, and maintains the Google products, services, and features described here. Use of Google products, services, and features is governed by privacy policies and service agreements maintained by Google. Learn more about partner content on Trailhead.

Get the Most Out of the Manage Google Workspace Trail

This is the second module of the Manage Google Workspace trail, where you learn the process and best practices for setting up and maintaining Google Workspace for your company. You also learn how Google Workspace integrates with Salesforce.

If you haven’t taken the Google Workspace Administration module yet, we recommend you do—it includes step-by-step exercises, even steps to sign up for a free trial of Google Workspace so you can follow along. While we don’t test you on these exercises, we do provide you with the resources and information to help.

Bring More of the Business to the Cloud

In the previous module, you, the Awesome Admin for a transportation provider, began exploring how you can configure Google Workspace to ensure it meets your organization’s security and data policies. In a meeting with business leadership, you called out that it was important to ensure the platform was secure and integrated with Salesforce. The business’s productivity apps should be able to sync with its CRM. And everyone agreed.

It’s time to take things a step further, by exploring how each Google service needs to be managed.

Control User Access in Google Workspace

(Optional) Set Up Your Google Workspace Domain

Complete the following steps if the Google Workspace trial domain you used in Google Workspace Administration has expired. In this case you should create a new domain and populate it as described below. Remember, to avoid getting unwanted charges, cancel your trial afterward.

If you’re just reviewing the steps as a reference or if your trial account is still active, feel free to move to the next section.

  1. Set up a Google Workspace trial account. You can purchase a new domain or you can use a domain that you already own. See the Help Center resource links below for more details on using an existing domain.
  2. Create the following organizational units (OUs).
    1. Executive
    2. Employees
    3. Contractors
  3. Create the following Google Workspace user accounts.

First name

Last name

Email address

Employee title

Org Unit Path

Alex

Bell

alex.bell@yourdomain

IT

Manager

/Executive

Ellie

Gray

ellie.gray@yourdomain

Executive Assistant

/Employees

Jon

Baird

jon.baird@yourdomain

HR

Business Partner

/Employees

Lars

Ericsson

lars.ericsson@yourdomain

HR

Manager

/Executive

Samantha

Morse

samantha.morse@yourdoma in

CEO

/Executive

Timothy

Lee

timothy.lee@yourdomain

Finance Manager

/Executive

Tom

Edison

tom.edison@yourdomain

Support Engineer

/Employees

Will

Marconi

will.marconi@yourdomain

Support Engineer

/Employees

Mark

Jones

mark.jones@yourdomain

Consultant

/Contractors

  1. Add the Building Details, Features, and Resources as described in the Manage Shared Resources unit of Google Workspace Administration.

Now you should be up to speed!

Turn Services On Or Off for Everyone

As the administrator, you control user access to different types of Google services, including:

  • Google Workspace which includes enterprise versions of Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Docs, and more. These are the core services that have a Terms of Service agreement and are fully supported by Google Workspace Support.
  • Additional Google Services such as Blogger, Google Books, and more. These services are available to use in Google Workspace, but aren’t covered by the Terms of Service agreement, nor supported by Google Workspace Support. They’re turned on by default
  • Marketplace apps: The Google Workspace Marketplace enables administrators to browse for, purchase, and deploy integrated, business-oriented cloud applications. The vendor provides warranties and support for these third-party apps.

Administrators can turn services on or off for the entire organization or for a particular OU. In the following exercises, you configure services to fit your company’s business needs.

You receive an email from the IT manager.

Hey Awesome Admin,

As you know, we’re working on a confidential project at the moment. To prevent any information leaks, I don't want anyone to be able to create a blog or site with their company account.

Thanks,

Alex Bell, IT Manager

Can do, Alex!

  1. If you are not already signed in, sign in to your domain as the administrator at admin.google.com.
  2. Click the Apps icon.
  3. Click Google Workspace.
  4. Sites is a core service and core services are generally enabled for everyone by default. To turn off this service, locate Sites in the list and click the ellipses (three vertical dots) icon at the end of the row.
  5. Then, click Turn off for everyone.
  6. Click Turn off to confirm.
  7. To verify the service is now disabled, open a new browser tab and go to https://sites.google.com. When you try to use the Sites service, you should see a message advising that you do not have access to that service.
  8. You must now turn off Blogger as per Alex’s request. Blogger is an additional service so from the admin console click Apps | Additional Google services.
  9. Locate Blogger in the list and click the ellipses (three vertical dots) icon at the end of the row.
  10. Then, click Turn off for everyone.
  11. Click Turn off to confirm.

You've successfully turned off the two services for your whole organization.

Note
  • It can take up to 24 hours for a service ON/OFF change to take effect.
  • Some services depend on other services. Dependent services cannot be enabled unless the services they depend on are also enabled.

Turn Services On or Off for a Single Organizational Unit

You receive the following email from Alex.

Awesome Admin,

That was quick! Thanks so much for turning off those services. However, our CEO has advised me that they will want to create a site at some stage, so can you enable the Sites service for our executive only?

Also, can you turn off Currents for all contractors?

Thanks,

Alex Bell, IT Manager

This will be easier than you think, Alex.

  1. If you’re not already signed in, sign in to your domain as the administrator at admin.google.com.
  2. Click the Apps icon.
  3. Click Google Workspace.
  4. Click the Executive OU (left side of the page). You are now viewing the status for Apps in the Executive OU only. Note that Sites is OFF at the moment as it inherits its setting from the top level organization.
  5. To turn Sites on for this OU only, locate Sites in the list and click the ellipses (three vertical dots) icon at the end of the row. Then click On (Override).
  6. Click Turn on to confirm. The Sites service status should change to On.
  7. Click another OU and verify that the Sites service remains off for other parts of the organization.
  8. Then, click the Contractors OU.
  9. Locate Currents in the list and click the ellipses (three vertical dots) icon at the end of the row.
  10. Then, click Off (Override).
  11. Click Turn off to confirm. You may need to confirm a second time. If prompted, click Turn Currents off.

You’ve successfully turned a single service on and another one off at the OU level, overriding inheritance from the higher level organization! Similar to turning services on and off at the organization level, it can take up to 24 hours for the change to take effect.

This alignment between service status and organizational structure is very useful, but what happens if you want to enable a service for some users in an OU, but keep it disabled for others?

Enable Services Using Groups

In this exercise you learn how to enable a service for specific users by using a Google Group.

You receive another email from Alex.

Hey Awesome Admin,

Sam, our CEO, would like to enable Sites for her Executive Assistant Ellie Gray. Can you please do that for her?

Thanks,

Alex Bell, IT Manager

Get ready for the power to access Sites, Ellie.

  1. Open a new incognito browser window and go to mail.google.com.
  2. Sign in as Ellie Gray ellie.gray@yourdomain
  3. Navigate to https://sites.google.com to confirm that Ellie does not have access to the Sites service.
  4. Sign out and sign back into your domain as the administrator at admin.google.com. You are now going to create a group and make Ellie a member.
  5. Time to enable the Sites service for this group. Click the Groups icon.
  6. Click Create group and enter the following information.
    1. Name: Access Sites
    2. Description: Users with access to the sites service regardless of their OU setting
    3. Group email: access.sites@yourdomain
  7. Click NEXT.
  8. Set the Access type to Restricted (Only members can post and view topics).
  9. Click Create Group.
  10. Click the Add members to Access Sites link and add Ellie Gray as a member.
  11. Now enable Sites access for the group created above. Navigate to Apps | Google Workspace.
  12. Click the Groups link on the left hand side of the page.
  13. Add Access Sites to the Search for a group field. The right hand side of the screen will now show status for apps in Access Sites.
  14. Locate Sites in the list of services and hover over the row, then click Turn on.
  15. Click Turn on to confirm.
  16. Verify that Ellie can now access the Sites service. Sign out as the domain administrator and sign back in as Ellie.
  17. Navigate to https://sites.google.com.

Even though Ellie’s OU has Sites disabled, the sites page should load because she is a member of the access group with Sites enabled.

Groups enable user access to Google Workspace core services and Google additional services. However, Groups can’t turn off user access to a service that’s turned on for an organization.

It’s a good practice to develop a naming convention for access groups such as the one created in this exercise, for example, prefix the group name/email with Access or AX. An access group can contain users from any organizational unit or another group (nested groups).

Resources

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