G Suite is one of the most flexible productivity computing platforms available. Cloud-based and accessible from anywhere, the extensive suite of apps has become a favourite for businesses of all sizes. It’s scalable, flexible and customisable, making it an extremely powerful platform.
Realising that no two businesses are the same, the G Suite team has provided the features necessary for administrators and developers to build their own tailor-made enterprise computing infrastructures. Whether this involves integrating third-party CRM solutions, deploying custom apps or customising your experience using add-ons, the possibilities for extending G Suite’s functionalities are practically limitless.
Create custom apps with App Maker
Last November, Google introduced App Maker, a tool for building customised apps from scratch. This development tool allows users to quickly create and deploy secure apps within the G Suite platform. App Maker minimises the necessity for complicated coding by providing a convenient drag-and-drop interface.
This allows developers to quickly drag and drop different components into their apps, such as maps, buttons, lists and more. They can then populate different components with data from other G Suite applications you use, such as Contacts, Groups and Maps, since everything runs on the same infrastructure.
App Maker opens up many possibilities for those who previously found G Suite’s productivity tools lacking when compared to more traditional desktop solutions. For example, businesses might use it to build simple time-tracking systems or tools for tracking orders, shipments and inventories.
Essentially, App Maker is designed so that companies can easily digitise common business problems or routines by developing simple web-based apps that are accessible from anywhere. App maker is now available through the Early Adopter Program for all G Suite Business users.
Extend G Suite functionality with add-ons
G Suite also includes the ability to add functionality to your favourite apps by building add-ons with the Apps Script feature. The development platform uses JavaScript, allowing developers to extend and customise G Suite applications by adding menus, sidebars, macros and a wealth of other custom functions.
For example, you might want to create a menu in Sheets that includes shortcuts to functions for building custom reports or integrate a feature into Docs that automatically translates content using the Google Translate API. Both home and business users can also choose from an ever-growing selection of apps in the Google Docs Store.
Integrate third-party apps with G Suite APIs
Many of the G Suite apps come with application programming interfaces (APIs) for developing and integrating third-party apps. These APIs allow you to build a fully customised cloud-based computing infrastructure without having to work with multiple platforms at the same time.
Google provides dozens of APIs, including those for interacting with G Suite apps and others designed for domain administrators. Here are just a few examples of what you can expect to achieve by leveraging the power of G Suite APIs:
- Use the Drive API to synchronise data from a third-party app with your Google Drive account.
- Use the Gmail API to create interactive features, such as cards and buttons, for integrating with the world’s most popular webmail service.
- Use the Sheets API for managing the content, appearance and arrangement of Google Sheets data.
- Use the Slides API for programmatically updating presentations by populating them with data from other sources, including third-party apps.
- Use the Calendar API for integrating third-party apps with Google Calendar and adding events programmatically.
G Suite is a constantly evolving platform offering an unprecedented degree of flexibility to businesses seeking to build their own tailor-made computing solutions. However, getting the most out of the platform requires careful planning and ongoing management. That’s where Damson Cloud comes in. Contact us today to find out how we can help you get maximum mileage out of your IT infrastructure.
