Simpleenergy: Pioneering the future of electric two-wheelers with Chat in Google Workspace

“By breaking down silos to enable always-on collaboration, Google Workspace is helping us build India’s next generation of electric scooters, while saving us 30% in software fees.” 

Snapshot: Simpleenergy is ushering in a new wave of localized electric two-wheelers in India. Discover why the company migrated to Google Workspace as its platform for collaboration. With more than 450 of its employees on Workspace, the startup: 

• Relies on a single chat tool, no longer juggling multiple software licenses and saving 30% in software costs

• Unified communication onto one platform, enabling a more seamless user experience

• Uses Chat to cut inbox overload, and now, more than 90% of their workforce uses it every day

• Keeps its proprietary business information secure

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Origin story

India runs on two-wheelers. More than half of all households own one, so it’s no surprise that scooters are also driving the country’s electric vehicle (EV) revolution. But the green shift initially came at a cost: Electric two-wheelers were unreliable, unsafe, and not nearly as ergonomic as traditional gasoline scooters. When we founded Simpleenergy, we set out to build scooters that could match their gasoline counterparts in durability and endurance. Our first line of EVs did just that: They were the fastest and went further on a single charge than other EVs in their class.

But as we began to expand our footprint across India, we quickly realized that our disparate productivity tools were costly and put our data security at risk. To consolidate our complex melting pot of licenses into a single, unified platform, we turned to Google Workspace. Now, Workspace fuels collaboration across our cross-functional teams and supports our trajectory to soon quadruple our workforce.

The switch to Google Workspace and Chat

We selected Google Workspace for its integrated, intuitive, and lightweight interface. Each tool seamlessly integrates with the rest of the platform, whether we’re jumping on a Google Meet call from Chat or pulling a Sheets file in Gmail. But when it comes to our communication, Chat has been the most transformative tool. Since Chat is part of Workspace, we used its built-in data migration service and now save 30% in software license costs compared to our previous solution.

Working with Google Workspace partners Redington and C4Cloud, we migrated over 250 channels to Chat, with none of our 450 employees experiencing downtime during the process. Chat has helped us cut inbox overload, and now, more than 90% of our workforce uses it every day.

Spaces in Chat, for example, allow us to send out broadcasts to particular groups instead of pinging each member separately. Conversation summaries, which pop up at the top of a chain, let employees quickly catch up on what they missed. Similarly, Chat’s home section provides an overview of conversations so users can easily prioritize. There’s also a round-the-clock feed of updates inside spaces on a variety of subjects, such as what’s delaying deliveries to our factory or what early adopters think of our scooters. In case of emergency, we can instantly call a colleague through Chat instead of first creating and scheduling a meeting. 

Before Workspace, our proprietary information would frequently leak through instant messaging apps and forwarded emails. With its robust access controls, Workspace has eliminated the need for us to manually quarantine sensitive content. Only the right people can access the information that’s necessary for their work, keeping sensitive data secure at all times.

Looking ahead

When we switched to Google Workspace, we didn’t expect it to play an instrumental role in accelerating our ambitions. But whether it’s delivering our next-generation scooters nationwide or quadrupling our workforce in the next couple of years, we’ve never had more confidence in our tech infrastructure to support our long-term goals.