FAQs
The Details - When and How?
Why are we doing this?
Google Apps provides a high level of technical security and privacy. Our desire to protect our information and our ministry in this new digital age was a large factor in our decision to go with Google.
Google Apps has so many tools to help you connect and care for the people in your life. In a ministry where our primary objective is to connect with people, it is important to us to provide the tools to do so.
Google Apps are also designed for collaboration. Many people find they are able to be significantly more productive using Google Apps, especially when their work requires them to collaborate with others as ours often does. We think Google Apps will launch us forward in doing what we do best - connecting with and caring for people as we seek to bring Christ to the world.
Google Apps allows you to determine who has access to documents, calendars and emails. You can keep things as locked down or as open as you need depending on who you are working with and what you need to do. This will allow us to bring students, volunteers, and other partners into our collaboration in ways we have never been able to on our current system.
Google Apps are designed by to be device independent which means they work on a Mac, PC, iPhone and any other device with a modern web browser that is connected to the Internet. This means much more flexibility to collaborate with volunteers without having to provide a computer or expensive software. That is why so many businesses have also gone Google. Large organizations like ours are improving collaboration and saving resources by using Google Apps.
Google Apps are global: by default they are translated into 28 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and Russian. You can change the current language “on the fly” without a disk or download. This can help us reach and collaborate with volunteers all over the world. Google Translate can help you translate anything from 66 languages.
Finally, moving to Google Apps presents an unprecedented opportunity to improve our skills as missionaries. A survey of over 700 Cru staff indicated that email is used by 70% of our staff as their primary daily tool for their work as Cru Staff. Yet, we have never ever had comprehensive organization wide training for a unified digital platform. This move to Google Apps gives us the chance to all be trained in the same tools at the same time to increase our skill in using the tools we use every day for ministry.
When are we Going Google?
Your local leadership is working out a schedule with the technology team at the World Headquarters.
How will I be trained?
Please see the Get Training page on this site.
What will and won't be automatically moved over to Google from my old account?
This depends on the type of system that you're migrating from. We will do our best to migrate all of your email, calendar, and contacts to Google Apps. If you're coming from a Google system, we'll migrate Drive files. If your ministry is currently using Google and you have Google Sites, Youtube channels, or other Google services, let your ministry tech know about them.
What do I need to do?
Pay close attention to emails from your leadership about the schedule and what you need to do. There will be a few days (probably a weekend) where you are asked to stay out of your email while the migration is happening.
Will my email address change?
Maybe. If your ministry is going through a rebranding your primary address might change but have no fear your old address will remain as an Alias that can still receive and send emails under your new ministry address. It will NOT be a gmail.com address. If you are not rebranding, then it will continue to be whatever your current ministry uses.
What does this mean for me?
Why can't I continue using my free personal email account for ministry email?
Your free personal emails have lower levels of security and privacy than the version Cru is using. For example, your data on the free version of Gmail isn't backed up, Google uses it for ads and it is on lower security servers. We want to better protect information about the people we minister to and who support our ministry. Google Apps guarantees your data is always backed up, is not used for ads or read by Google and is on high security servers. This also significantly reduces our legal risk, which keeps the reputation of the Global ministry solid and helps all of us raise support better. While we understand that making this change may cause some initial inconveniences and is not ideal for some, it is very important for the protection of our ministry. Google makes it very easy to be signed in to multiple Google accounts (your ministry one and a personal email) at the same time and to easily switch back and forth.
In addition, a huge win in any organization is to have everyone using the same tools in the same place. Surveys show that this can increase the productivity of an organization by 20-30%. Can you imagine if our ministry was 20-30% more productive? Tools like instant chat and video chat can be incredibly helpful in your work. These tools become much less effective if we are not all using the Google Apps web interface.
However you should still continue to use your personal Google account to make purchases for apps, books, music, video's and anything else that you might want to keep if you should leave staff. Even if you never plan to leave staff, those kind of purchases should still be made on your personal account.
I am really comfortable with my current email program (Outlook/Entourage/Mail). Can I just keep using it?
Our desire is to be as flexible as we can and allow people to use whatever tools necessary to do their job. However, for the vast majority of people, the Google Apps web interface will meet all of your needs. We believe that after you go through the training and allow for a little learning time, you will be even more productive than you were on former tools. In addition, a huge win for productivity in any organization is to have everyone using the same tools in the same place. Surveys show that this can increase the productivity of an organization by 20-30%. It doesn't matter so much what the tools are, just that everyone is using the same ones. Can you imagine if our ministry was 20-30% more productive?
Also, tools like instant chat and video chat can be incredibly helpful in your work. These tools become much less effective if we are not all using the Google Apps web interface. In addition, security breaches are far more likely to happen from someone losing their laptop with a great deal of their (and their ministry partners, students, etc.) information on them. Cloud based computing significantly decreases those risks. We are asking that everyone go through the Google Apps training and use the web interface long enough to become a proficient user. If after doing that you find that you need to use a desktop client to do your job, you will be able to do so.
What are Cru Apps Powered by Google?
What's the difference between a free personal Google Account and a Cru Google Apps Account?
A Google Account and a Cru Google Apps account have many of the same tools. The difference is that our Google Apps account is administered by Cru. Cru Google Apps provides unlimited Drive storage vs 15GB for a personal Google account. There are many more features for connecting us with each other, such as the global address list of all Cru staff members and the ability to see when we are each free or busy. Plus the ability to chat via text or video with any Cru staff at the click of a button, share documents, edit documents and presentations together and so much more. Cru Google Apps provides a significant increase in security and privacy. Plus there are no advertisements and Google cannot mine your data in order to sell ads nor can they share our data.
What are the advantages of Cru Google Apps over my personal Google account?
Cru Google Apps provides unlimited Drive and Shared Drive storage versus 15GB for a personal Google account. You will have access to the global address list of all Cru staff members, including the ability to see free/busy information on their calendar, and chat via text or video at the click of a button. Cru Google Apps provides a significant increase in security and privacy. In addition, Shared Drive is a feature not availalbe to a personal account. With Shared Drives, the folder now becomes the owner of files, so no more worrying about how to transfer files to another person once you leave a project! Plus there will be no more advertisements in your email!
Will my email have advertisements?
Nope. All Gone.
Will Google Apps do the same things as my current email program?
Cru Google Apps will do so much more. These tools are incredibly powerful and will do most everything you are used to doing in Outlook, Mail or Entourage. You will be able to share calendars, see other people's free/busy information, and schedule meetings and meeting rooms. Your calendar, contacts and email in exchange will automatically be migrated over. Because these tools may look different than what you are used to, we encourage you to review the training on the Get Training tab above.
Can I access Google Apps offline?
Yes, you can set up Google Apps for offline access to your recent email messages and drafts, starred items etc. To enable this feature, click Settings in the upper-right corner of your Google Mail window, click the Offline tab, and then click Enable Offline Mail for this computer. Also, Google Drive allows you to create and work with documents offline. To enable this feature, see the instructions in the Get Training tab.
Can I access my Cru Google Mail and Calendar on my mobile device?
Yes, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Drive, Search, Hangouts and many other Google Apps support mobile access on most mobile devices.
What about the security and privacy of our information in Cru Google Apps?
Google Apps is not the same product as your free “consumer” Google account. The level of technical security and privacy that Google Apps provides is significantly higher than our previous digital tools and was a large factor in our decision to move to Google. Google invests in security at a scale that is difficult for many businesses to rival, not to mention non-profit organizations. Cru data will be stored in data centers that are distributed and constantly backed up so data breaches and loss are far less likely. That is why Google Apps is used by many who need a high level of security, including United Bank and Trust, BBVA, the NOAA, McClatchy Newspapers and even the City of Orlando.
The General Counsel’s Office of Cru supported our transition to Google Apps. Our move provides a significant improvement over the data security Cru can provide on its own servers. Google Apps also has far better security than free cloud based email services. For example, in a free version (like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo mail), the provider does not back up your emails, searches your data to provide ads, and disclaims all liability for any loss or security breach of your email, even if such loss or security breach was the provider’s fault.
We want to better protect information about our staff, the people we minister to, and our donors. Our Google Apps account guarantees that our emails, documents, etc. are backed up and are not used for ads; Google is legally obligated to keep all Cru data private. Google only provides access to its employees that need it to provide the service and security, not for its own marketing. Our contract requires Google to provide higher security monitoring specifically for our systems. This is especially important considering the international aspect of our ministry. Google Apps will not necessarily replace special digital tools used in secure countries. Those decisions must be made on an individual basis by the local leadership.
Statistics show that the most common reason for data loss or breach is from lost or damaged computers that are not secure or properly backed up. Google Apps will greatly decrease the possibility of lost data because data is not primarily stored on your computer but rather on Google servers that are accessed via the Internet. This process is commonly referred to as “the cloud” or “cloud based computing”. Though you will still be able to work offline, all of your Google Apps data is backed up instantly whenever you are connected to the Internet. This greatly enhances security for all Cru staff. For more information about Google Apps privacy and security, click here.
Lastly, all of these reasons together significantly decrease our legal risk and expenses, which protects our reputation and standing in the community. A good reputation of stewardship also helps all of us in raising financial support.
Which tools are included in Cru Apps and what do they do?
Google Mail and Contacts
Google Calendar, which lets you schedule and share online calendars, find times that your meeting attendees are free, and syncs to your mobile device.
Google Drive and Shared Drive, which lets you create, share, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations.
Google Hangouts, which lets you text, voice, or video chat with coworkers or partners in ministry.
Google Groups are user-created groups where you can generate and manage mailing lists, enable content sharing and create searchable archives.
Google Sites is a tool that creates webpages for intranets and team-managed sites. These webpages are secure and coding-free.
and more (including Google+ and Youtube)
Can I continue to use Microsoft Office documents? How does that work with Google Drive?
For most people, Google Docs are more than sufficient for all you need to do. But if you want to continue to use Microsoft Office documents, you can do so. You can also import many types of documents into your Google Drive such as Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps), Rich Text (.rft), Plain text (.txt), HTML (.html), PDF (.pdf), Comma-separated values (.csv), Tab-separated values (.tsv), OpenDocument Text (.odt), OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods). It is now possible to edit some of those files directly in the Chrome browser in Google Drive.
Can I share documents I create in my Google Drive with others outside of our domain?
Yes! That is a major selling point. You can share documents and collaborate with anyone outside of Cru.org as long as they have a free Google Apps account or free personal Gmail account to access the shared documents.