Do you know what documents your staff are sharing on Google Apps?

Managing Google Apps for a large number of users can be something of a headache. How do you know if your users are inappropriately sharing out documents? How do you know if calendaring information has been made public when it shouldn’t? A lot of users don’t fully appreciate the different ways that Google Apps can be configured and it’s important to have a way to keep an eye on things.

We’re always on the lookout for innovative Google Apps tools and we think we’ve found the perfect solution to administering Google Apps users.  It’s called the ‘General Audit Tool for Google Apps’ and it’s an essential add on to your Google Apps tool box.

As you start to use your Google Apps for more than just email, you need some way to check what information you have shared out and to whom those items are shared. This useful tool audits all aspects of your Google Apps account and tells you who can see your files, your sites, you calendars and you email groups. For Admins it also a really useful ‘Whats’ Hot’ set of reports to show you what was shared in and out of your organisation in the last 15 days or what files most of your staff are collaborating on.

All reports can be saved in PDF or Spreadsheet format to your Google Account, ideal for printing or searching.
This tool is essential for your on-line security and powerful in multi-staff environments.

Examples of what some of the reports look like can be found here. The Free tool can be installed from here in the Google Apps Marketplace.

We hope you find this tool as useful as we did!

It’s also worth noting that Baker Security, who made this app are also Google Apps partners and it could be worth talking to them if you are trying to deploy Google Apps in a large or complex organization.