January Webinar Questions and Answers
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Q: Will Fundamentals continue to be free?
A: At this time and for the foreseeable future, our understanding is that, yes, Fundamentals will continue to be free of charge.
Q: Is there an additional cost if we need more Fundamentals licenses?
A: No, but you must explain your need when you request these licenses from Google Support.
Q: Are there fees for Gmail Only or Archived licenses?
A: No, these are included for Education domains at no additional cost.
Q: Will we get a huge number of Fundamentals licenses now if we have never deleted our suspended users?
A: Yes. The number of Fundamentals licenses you will receive is based on your current total user count, whether suspended or active, plus a buffer of additional licenses that Google will calculate.
Q: Is there a way to see how many users we have to estimate the number of licenses we should expect?
A: You will receive 1 Fundamentals license, 1 Gmail Only license, and 1 Archive license for every user account in your domain (suspended or active). For example, if you have 10,000 total accounts in your domain, you will get 10,000 Fundamentals licenses, 10,000 Gmail Only licenses, and 10,000 Archive licenses. This is a grand total of 30,000 licenses, but these licenses have different restrictions. Google will also calculate a buffer of additional licenses for all three license types that will be added to your inventory. The quickest way to see how many users are in your domain is to go to your Admin console, go to Directory > Users, and click Download users to get a full list of user accounts in a Sheets file or CSV.
Q: Do we get licenses back from students that graduated?
A: Not automatically unless you archive those accounts. The new archive process automatically removes the Fundamentals license and returns it to your inventory, but it does not remove upgraded licenses like Workspace Standard or Plus.
Q: Fundamentals licenses are not removed when I suspend a user. Will they be removed when I archive a user?
A: Yes. The archiving process will automatically remove the Fundamentals license and place it back in your inventory for assignment to another account. This means that suspension is really a temporary status, while archiving is more permanent.
Q: Will there be an option to check how many are in use and how many are available?
A: Yes, in Billing > Licenses, you can see all your licenses that are available.
Q: If I never delete accounts, does this mean I could run out of Archive licenses?
A: Yes. At some point, to free up Archive licenses for alumni or staff who have left your organization, you will need to delete accounts or request additional Archive licenses from Google Support.
Q: Can we request additional Archive licenses beyond the number of Fundamentals licenses if needed in the future?
A: Yes, Google will provide more information once you receive your MSA email to the Primary Google Admin email address.
Q: Is Admin management/assignment of Fundamentals licenses required for all editions of Workspace for Education?
A: Yes. A user must have a Fundamentals license assigned to their account to access the Core Services of Workspace, regardless of what edition of Workspace your organization has. The Fundamentals license grants a user access to the Core Services of Workspace. The upgraded licenses grant a user access to additional features within those services.
Q: Will the new Fundamentals SKU be available in GCDS?
A: Yes. You may need to update your GCDS client once this change rolls out to your domain so that you can use that SKU in GCDS.
Q: Will auto-licensing Fundamentals be supported in the Admin console?
A: Yes. This may be the fastest way to make sure your active users get a Fundamentals license assigned. To configure this, go to Billing > Subscriptions in your Admin console and configure for the OUs where your active users reside. Do not turn this on for the OUs where you will house your archived users.
Q: What happens with users who don’t have a Fundamentals or Gmail Only license or who are not Archived?
A: It is best practice for all user accounts to be in one of these three states at all times. If an account is not, that account’s data is inaccessible by Vault, and the availability and functionality of Workspace services are severely impacted. File access by collaborators may also be impacted. Ensuring all user accounts are in one of these three states ensures that the data associated with those accounts is maintained and services are available.
Q: Fundamentals licenses are not removed when I suspend a user. Will they be removed when I archive a user?
A: Yes. The archiving process will automatically remove the Fundamentals license and place it back in your inventory for assignment to another account. This means that suspension is temporary, while archiving is more long-term or permanent.
Q: Can we switch our suspended users to archived users?
A: Yes. If these users are not expected to return to your organization, that would be the best practice.
Q: If I never delete accounts, does this mean I could run out of Archive licenses?
A: Yes. At some point, to free up Archive licenses for alums or staff who have left your organization, you will need to delete accounts or request additional Archive licenses from Google Support.
Q: Does this change mean we will need to start deleting old accounts?
A: Google recognizes that data retention policies and legal requirements vary widely, so they recognize the need to make this new model accommodating and flexible. However, we recommend reviewing your staff and student account retention policies and practices. Good management of your account lifecycles will ensure you don’t run out of licenses.
Q: How many licenses will my domain receive?
A: You will receive 1 Fundamentals license, 1 Gmail Only license, and 1 Archive license for every user account in your domain (suspended or active). For example, if you have 10,000 total accounts in your domain, you will get 10,000 Fundamentals licenses, 10,000 Gmail Only licenses, and 10,000 Archive licenses. This is a grand total of 30,000 licenses, but these licenses have different restrictions. Google will also calculate a buffer of additional licenses for all three license types that will be added to your inventory. Considering that each user account can only have one of these license types at a time, this should give most organizations plenty of flexibility to manage their accounts.
Q: Will Fundamentals licenses be removed from current users when our domain transitions?
A: No. When Google transitions your domain, all current users will keep their current licenses. This includes currently suspended users.
Q: When will this change take effect?
A: There is no uniform date for when this change will happen. It will be on a domain-by-domain basis. Google will notify you a minimum of 30 days in advance of your transition date. This communication will go to your Primary Admin as listed in your Admin console.
Q. Will our current suspended users become archived at the change, or will they all need to be changed?
A. Current suspended users will remain as such. You will need to manually archive these users or use automation to move all suspended users to an archived user status.
Q: How many licenses will my domain receive?
A: You will receive 1 Fundamentals license, 1 Gmail Only license, and 1 Archive license for every user account in your domain (suspended or active). For example, if you have 10,000 total accounts in your domain, you will get 10,000 Fundamentals licenses, 10,000 Gmail Only licenses, and 10,000 Archive licenses. This is a grand total of 30,000 licenses, but these licenses have different restrictions. Google will also calculate a buffer of additional licenses for all three license types that will be added to your inventory. Considering that each user account can only have one of these license types at a time, this should give most organizations plenty of flexibility to manage their accounts.
Q: Fundamentals licenses are not removed when I suspend a user. Will they be removed when I archive a user?
A: Yes. The archiving process will automatically remove the Fundamentals license and place it back in your inventory for assignment to another account. This means that suspension is really a temporary status, while archiving is more long-term or permanent.
Q: Can an archived user be un-archived?
A: Yes. However, the details of this process are unclear at this time. When you un-archive, we recommend checking the Licenses card in that user's account in the Admin console to verify that a Fundamentals license is assigned.
Q: How do archived users' Drive files impact Drive storage?
A: Files owned by archived users count against your Drive storage the same as a regular user.
Q: Do we have a limit to the number of users who can be archived?
A: Yes. You will be able to archive as many users as you have Fundamentals/Gmail Only licenses. More can be requested by contacting Google Support.
Q: If users are archived, will their files still be accessible by collaborators?
A: Yes, similar to how file access works for suspended users. The owners of these files will not be able to access their own files, but collaborators will have the same edit/comment/view access they had while the owner was still active.
Q: Which status is better to use for graduates, unenrolled students, and staff who leave the organization?
A: If a person is not returning to your organization but you need to preserve their data, then archiving their account is best practice. Suspension should be used for temporary suspension of access to your Workspace services.
Q: What do you recommend we rename our Suspended OU to?
A: We recommend renaming your Suspended OU to Archived and only using Suspended status for temporary revocation/suspension of access.
Q: Would you recommend moving all those suspended users to archived once the changes are made?
A: Yes, our recommendation is to use a specific OU for archived users, move suspended users there, and change their status to archived users to regain their Fundamentals licenses. Suppose you have additional license upgrades in place (For example, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Standard, Plus, Gemini). In that case, you will need to remove those licenses manually or through a separate automation method.
Q: Does Gmail Only allow OAuth?
A: OAuth with third-party applications/sites is available for Gmail Only users.
Q: How do Gmail Only users' Drive files impact Drive storage?
A: Files owned by Gmail Only users count against your Drive storage the same as regular users.
Q: If users are Gmail Only, will their files still be accessible by collaborators?
A: Yes, similar to how file access works for suspended users. The owners of these files will not be able to access their own files, but collaborators will have the same edit/comment/view access they had while the owner was still active.
Q: What happens to a user's files in Vault when they are Archived or the Fundamentals license is removed?
A: Archived users' data remains in Vault. If a user does not have either a Fundamentals or Gmail Only license or is not Archived, their data is not in Vault.
Q: Do we need a license on the account to keep the data in Vault?
A: All user accounts should be in one of these three states at all times in order for Vault to access their data:
- Fundamentals license assigned
- Gmail Only license assigned
- Archived
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