Google Workspace Changes

Google Calendar introduces native support for third-party conferencing add-ons.

Google Calendar is adding support for third-party conferencing add-ons, allowing providers such as Cisco Webex, GoToMeeting, and RingCentral to enable users to create, view, and join video conferences directly from a Calendar event on web or mobile without requiring downloads or plug-ins.

Automatically generated meeting join instructions for third-party calendar clients.

Google Calendar now automatically adds text to event descriptions for users utilizing G Suite Sync for Microsoft Outlook, Google Sync, or third-party Android clients that rely on Calendar Provider. This text provides clear instructions on how to join meetings via Meet or Hangouts, allowing users of clients that do not natively display meeting instructions (such as Samsung S Planner) to join meetings without needing to access Google Calendar on the web.

Include a message when changing or deleting meeting details in Google Calendar.

Google Calendar now allows users to enter a custom message in a dialog box when editing or deleting an existing meeting. This message is then included in the email notification sent to other guests, facilitating better communication regarding meeting changes.

Calendar Interop now uses a restricted set of known IPs for Exchange server communication.

To enhance security for coexistence setups, Google Calendar Interop now utilizes a restricted set of known IPv4 and IPv6 addresses when communicating with Microsoft Exchange servers. This allows G Suite customers to block all incoming traffic to their on-premise Exchange servers via firewalls, except for requests originating from Calendar Interop.

Improved Google Calendar audit logs for third-party ICS-related changes.

Google Calendar has enhanced its audit logs in the Admin console to provide more detail for changes originating from third-party systems, such as Microsoft Exchange or IBM Notes, via ICS files. New information added to the logs includes the email sender's address, the message ID for cross-referencing with Gmail audit logs, the specific third-party system that sent the message, and the email recipient. Admins can filter these activities by selecting 'Gmail ICS Parser' in the API Kind field.

Event details now supported by Calendar Interop for Microsoft Exchange

Google is rolling out support for event details in availability lookups for Calendar Interop with Microsoft Exchange. G Suite admins can now opt in to share event titles, locations, and guest response statuses when users utilize Google Calendar's 'Find a Time' or Outlook's 'Scheduling Assistant'.

Automatic room suggestions in Google Calendar

Google Calendar is introducing automatic room suggestions to help organizations collaborate more effectively. The tool suggests rooms optimized for attendees based on their building and floor location, previous booking history, audio/video equipment needs, and room capacity requirements. To unlock this feature, administrators must input detailed meeting room information into Calendar.

Automatic upgrade to the new Google Calendar web UI begins January 8th, 2018.

Google will begin automatically upgrading users to the new Google Calendar web UI starting January 8th for Rapid Release domains and January 15th for Scheduled Release domains. Users on automatic rollout can opt out until February 28th, 2018, while those in manual rollout domains will be upgraded on February 28th without an opt-out option.

Update Google Calendar resources using the Calendar Resource, Buildings, and Features APIs.

Google has updated the existing Calendar Resources API and introduced two new APIs—Buildings and Features—to make it easier for G Suite admins to add and edit structured data about buildings and resources, ensuring synchronization with other facility management systems.

Classic Google Calendar Interop tool will be shut down on February 28, 2018.

Google is shutting down the classic version of the Calendar Interop tool on February 28, 2018. Organizations that have previously configured the classic version must migrate to the new version of Calendar Interop by this date to ensure continued availability lookup functionality between G Suite and Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 environments.

Easily copy and paste Hangouts Meet conference details across Google Calendar events.

Google Calendar now allows users to copy and paste Hangouts Meet conference codes or full URLs across different events. This is particularly useful for scheduling multiple events that require the same conference link, such as separate events for interviewers and candidates or back-to-back meetings, ensuring all participants join the same video conference. This feature is available in the new Calendar for web.

New admin control to suppress prompts when inviting external guests in Google Calendar.

Domain administrators can now enable or disable the confirmation prompts that appear when users invite guests from outside their domain to Google Calendar events. This setting can be managed globally or on a per-organizational unit (OU) basis via the Admin console under Apps > Google Apps > Calendar > Sharing Settings > External invitations. The setting is enabled by default.

New Admin console setting allows users to book resources shared as 'See only free/busy'.

Google has introduced a new setting in the Admin console that enables users to book calendar resources even when they are shared with the domain as 'See only free/busy'. Previously, admins had to share resources as 'See all event details' to allow booking, which exposed sensitive event information. This update allows admins to maintain privacy while still permitting resource booking across the domain.

Introduction of the new Calendar Resource API for managing physical resources.

Google has introduced the new Calendar Resource API as part of the Admin SDK's Directory API, enabling Google for Work customers to manage physical resources such as conference rooms, printers, and nap pods. These resources can be added to meetings by end users. This new API replaces the GDATA Calendar Resource API, which is scheduled for deprecation starting in January 2016 and will be sunset in January 2017.

Easier account syncing in the Google Calendar app for Android.

The latest version of the Google Calendar app for Android makes it easier for users to monitor and manage account syncing. If sync is disabled for an account, an 'Enable sync' message will appear in the left side Menu, allowing users to quickly re-enable syncing by clicking on their email address.