Google positions Gmail as a single-stop office communication with in-app calls and ‘Spaces’: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom and other popular collaboration platforms challenged?

Google Workspace Gmail Calling Meet Spaces
Google Workspace new features. Pic credit: Stock Catalog/Flickr

Google is clearly trying to make Gmail a central and singular gateway for all formal and informal business communication. Moving ahead, the Gmail app will also support voice calls in addition to emails, conversations, chat, and ‘Spaces’.

Google Workspaces, the platform that recently took over Gmail, is now expanding to become a central hub for every Google communication platform. Now the email app users can “ring” other Google services users.

Google Gmail now includes the classic VoIP protocol to quickly call colleagues for an informal verbal conversation:

Google is expanding the scope of Gmail well beyond emails and chats. After putting the platform under Google Workspace, the search giant is now adding more communication and collaboration tools to the Gmail App.

Moving ahead, the email platform’s mobile app will get direct calling via Google Meet. Users will be able to ring up their coworkers and other contacts for a quick one-on-one verbal conversation.

The feature will also reportedly send a “chip” to a synced computer if users would prefer to answer on the larger screen. Presumably, users will need to turn on Desktop Notifications for this feature to work.

Google is suggesting the ability to quickly call colleagues through the Gmail app is equivalent to “spontaneous” or “impromptu” conversations in a hybrid work environment.

Incidentally, Google already offers Google Meet, but this platform hasn’t received the feature, yet. The company has, however, indicated that Google Meet will eventually receive the calling feature.

Google Workspace undergoing a massive redesign to take on Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other Work For Home collaboration platforms?

With the latest addition, of the calling feature, Gmail has basically overtaken Microsoft Outlook. However, Google could be trying to position Gmail ahead of Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack, and other commonly used platforms that help the hybrid workplace.

Moving ahead, Gmail, which still is synonymous with email, will be just one tab in a group of four. After falling under Google Workspace, Gmail will sit alongside Chat, Spaces, and Meet.

“Spaces” is Google’s rebranding of “Rooms.” This feature directly competes with Slack, as it offers group chats with document sharing.

Google is also making it easier to find ‘Spaces’ within a company by making them discoverable to search. It is still an optional feature. But the company is adding full support for threaded messages to Spaces.

Besides the updates to Gmail and Spaces, even the Google Calendar has received a new feature. Google Calendar will now let users RSVP to a meeting invite with an indication of their location.

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