Google is updating Gmail as an all-in-one ‘productivity’ service to take on Microsoft Teams and Slack

With an aim to capitalise on the rising demand for platforms offering multiple features at one go, Google has announced a major restructuring in the designs of Gmail, primarily an email app. Google. Google will join a list dominated by Slack and Microsoft who offer apps and platforms with multipurpose applications for their users.

Google is set to introduce its applications such as Docs, Drive, and Calendar that are commonly used for official purposes in one place. The intended structuring by Google will enable users to manage office tasks at one go with four tabs including Mail, Chat, Meet for video calling, and Rooms at the bottom of the screen.

In the launch of these four tabs lies Google’s objective of providing people with a platform that will allow them to chat, transfer files, and browse Google Docs without having to switch tabs in their browsers. Google’s newest launched feature—Rooms has a similar offering to Slack rooms, which allows a team to work simultaneously in a collaborative way.

Coronavirus pandemic has shut the offices across the world and has forced companies to fall back on employees working from their homes in remote locations. This has led to a surge in demand for the applications and platforms that will provide increased productivity in quick time to manage the increased workload without having to suffer a dip in productivity of a particular firm.

Google too has shut its offices and has asked its employees to adapt to the new normal of working from home at least until the end of this year. Google had advised work from home until June to its employee back in March this year and later extended it to the end of the year as the coronavirus outbreak wreaked havoc across the world and especially in the United States where Google’s headquarter is located.