Google brings unified search to G Suite with Cloud Search, a new product that Google is introducing today that is aimed at helping people who use G Suite to save time. Like many of Google’s other products and services, Cloud Search is big on boosting productivity and so it shouldn’t be surprising that one of the reasons for developing Cloud Search was due to people wasting time searching for information they would need to complete their tasks. This wasted time converts to lower productivity and lower productivity isn’t good for business.
With Cloud Search, G Suite users will now have a tool in their pocket that allows them to more easily pinpoint the information that they need for any task whether that information be a specific document or a collection of photos. Cloud Search blends the power of Google Search for the web with machine intelligence technology, and with it users can simply search for the files and data they need but the app will also make recommendations to users as time goes on. The app does this through the use of what Google is calling “assist cards” which have the ability to suggest a specific file or document to a user that may be useful for a certain task.
Since the app is built with machine intelligence it will be capable of learning from users over time, and as it learns more about the user Google says the assist cards will become more frequent but also more relevant to the tasks at hand so users are getting not only the information and files that are best suited to a specific task or project, but also at the most relevant times so everything comes together nicely. While providing a way to search for files and information and suggesting things that might be useful are going to be core features of Cloud Search, it’s also capable of providing an easy way to search for other people who may work at your company. If you work for a business that has hundreds of employees, for example, you can use Cloud Search to find a specific employee that’s listed in the directory, and once Cloud Search finds that employee it lists details like their name and email information, and any files you might both be working with or projects you might both be working on. Cloud Search, which Google notes was formerly known as Springboard, only works with the collection of apps that are available within G Suite, but Google will be adding support for third-party apps at some point in the future. Cloud Search will be usable by G Suite Enterprise and Business customers relatively soon as Google is beginning the Global rollout of the feature from today.