Tips for Setting Up a New Google Workspace Sync

In this article you will learn:

• Sync Modes Supported for Google Workspace

• Factors to Consider When Setting Up a New Sync

Google Workspace encompasses Google's set of collaboration and productivity tools such as Gmail, Google Drive, Hangouts, Audits, Vault, and more. Currently, Onna connects directly to Google Workspace's API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate with an organization's Gmail, Drive, and Team Drives.

Sync Modes Supported for Google Workspace

The Google Workspace connector in Onna supports all three sync modes: one-time, auto-sync, & auto-sync, and archive.

• One-time: Onna will perform a one-way sync that collects information only once, typically for a specific time range.

• Auto-sync: Onna will perform a full sync first and then keep the data source and Onna in mirrored sync. If the data is deleted in Google Workspace, it will be deleted in Onna.

• Auto-sync and archive: Onna will perform a full sync, then automatically sync any new information after the original sync. The data will be archived in Onna. If it is deleted in Google Workspace, it will not be deleted in Onna.

Factors to Consider When Setting Up a New Sync

There are several factors to consider when collecting Gmail or Gdrive data.

• How large is the data set that is to be collected and is there enough space in Onna to collect this data?

• Is there a deadline as to when this data needs to be collected and searchable?

• Do the emails that will be collected contain many attachments which could increase the size of my collection?

• Is the data needed from a wide date range (archive) or a smaller subset (targeted)?

Depending on the answers to the questions above, we suggest either targeted collections or archived collections:

Targeted Collections

A targeted collection is a collection of one or more custodians data for a specific date range, eg. January 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021.

Benefits of Targeted Collections

• Collect point-in-time data, reducing time to further cull down the data.

• The most efficient manner of syncing Google Workspace data into Onna and is suggested for urgent matters.

• Minimize the amount of data syncing into Onna.

Limitations of Targeted Collections

• Will not continue to sync in new data past the specified date range. This is a “point in time” collection so if a larger set of data is needed, a new collection will need to be created.

Archived Collections

Onna supports both “auto-sync” and “auto-sync and archive” functionality for Google Workspace so the data can either be permanently stored in Onna and continuously sync in new data, or it can be stored as a mirrored copy of the Google Workspace environment.

Benefits of Archived Collections

• Continuous data sync reduces the time and cost of litigation and investigation by providing access and the ability to search information, in real-time. Data is readily available, giving the ability to search and cull down all custodian data at any given time.

• Once archived in Onna, data can be removed in the native source (if set up as auto-sync and archive).

Limitations of Archived Collections

• While there is no technical limitation on the number of accounts to sync, syncing a large number of accounts may take a significant amount of time.

• There is no option to ignore attachments. Onna will process these files which could lead to larger processed data sizes in Onna than what is displayed in the Google Workspace source.

For more information visit: How to collect from Google Workspace