The Challenge and Its Implications

Using a centralized tool to efficiently access shared external contacts

Limited collaboration and coordination

Messages intended for a specific employee may reach the wrong person, causing confusion and potentially affecting workflow and decision-making.

Scalability challenges

As the organization grows, managing contacts without a centralized tool becomes increasingly challenging, making it difficult to scale operations efficiently.

Missed business opportunities

Failing to efficiently access and utilize contacts may lead to missed business opportunities with crucial clients, partners, or vendors, affecting revenue and growth.

Duplication of effort

Teams may end up duplicating efforts by independently managing and updating their contact databases, leading to wasted time and resources.

Possible Solutions

Manual contact input

Employees have the option to input contacts from affiliated companies manually. However, this approach is extremely time-consuming and doesn't guarantee timely updates when a company within the corporation hires or terminates employees.

Admin Console

Super Admins can create shared contacts for the entire organization through the Admin Console. However, this feature has basic functionalities and requires manual maintenance, which can be time-consuming and can lead to duplication or inconsistencies, especially when managed by multiple administrators.

Command line

An alternative solution involves creating custom scripts using command line tools via Google Apps Manager (GAM) in Google Workspace, which presents a higher risk of human error due to its command line nature. It may also pose security risks if access controls are not properly managed.

Third-Party apps

Using third-party applications available in the Google Workspace Marketplace, such as Shared Contacts for Gmail™, offers additional solutions but implies incurring extra costs for only this specific feature.

Optimal solution: ToogleBox

ToogleBox enhances collaboration by configuring external domains to sync with your Directory. Moreover, the platform enables easy upload of external contacts, such as customers or vendors, as shared contacts.

Success Story

A prestigious conglomerate comprising five different tech companies recently enforced a policy to share critical insights about newly launched AI-powered tools. They decided to use Google Spaces for group messaging that required seamless access for all employees across the various companies. Leveraging a Shared Contacts tool significantly streamlined the creation of these Spaces, enabling efficient sharing of vital information and fostering enhanced collaboration.