• Share documents securely with 100+ freelancers from around the world with Drive

• Enable more accurate reporting with Data Studio

• Set up internal and external meetings quickly and easily with Calendar and Meet

• Improve HR processes with Sheets

From learning about the latest organic food vendor in the neighborhood to up-and-coming Thai artists, Cloud & Ground has established itself as an online magazine that covers news around local craft and creative culture, while supporting better living alongside homegrown brands and talent.

Founded in 2017, the startup was co-founded by Changnoi Kunjara, a 15-year veteran within the media industry and Zcongklod Bangyikhan, an established Thai writer. “Our intention was to find a space for the local community in the changing media landscape to encourage better living,” says Kunjara. He explains that by telling meaningful stories through vibrant pictures and quality videos that speak to the audience, he hopes to contribute and create a better community as a whole, by encouraging people to live better. The startup also organizes local events and festivals, including the annual Thailand Coffee Festival, one of the largest coffee festivals in Southeast Asia that aims to promote the Thai coffee industry across the supply chain.

To realize its mission, Cloud & Ground works with a wide range of freelancers from around the world for its publication, and liaises with local vendors for events. It has been using Google Workspace as its key platform for collaboration across its different projects. “We used Google Workspace from the time we launched because we knew that having an email account with our company name can help give us more credibility. It was one of the easiest platforms to adopt quickly due to the intuitive interface,” explains Kunjara. Starting with a basic package, the startup now uses Google Workspace for Business for enhanced capabilities.

Cloud & Ground uses Gmail for its daily communications and Sheets as its primary platform to manage its day-to-day workflow. From tracking sales, monitoring projects, to running commission processes, the team inputs every piece of information they have in Sheets for easy tracking. This has been particularly helpful during the pandemic, where all employees have been working remotely. “With Sheets, everyone involved in a project can see the big picture and pull out the details they need. It also updates in real time, so everytime colleagues add data, it’s immediately reflected for other team members to see. This has made operating a business much more efficient, as we can make more informed decisions,” says Kunjara.

The team also uses Calendar regularly to schedule meetings and check-ins with one another. As employees are able to share their calendars with the wider team, they can check that everyone required for a specific meeting can attend, even before sending the invitation. This is particularly useful when working with team members located in different timezones. They would schedule these meetings on Meet, which is quick and easy to do since Gmail, Calendar, and Meet are integrated, saving them hours that would otherwise be spent checking on each other’s availability.

To track the success of an event, the team uses Forms as its primary data collection tool. During registration, attendees are asked to fill out details to gather information which can then be analyzed for targeted marketing campaigns. The feedback collected can also be used as learning points to improve future events they organize.

From communication, collaboration, to project management tasks all being managed on Google Workspace, the startup is now looking to improve the human resources (HR) side of the business. “We’ll be using Google Workspace to keep track of employee data in a more systematic way. This includes making note of employee benefits, and every individual’s start date in a more orderly fashion,” says Kunjara.

On the editorial side, Cloud & Ground plans to leverage Google technologies to find new ways to improve the way it uses data to improve reach and engagement for its publication. “If we want to grow into a medium or large corporation, we need to first focus on the internal system. Having a partner like Demeter ICT that specializes in business transformation, along with the powerful tools Google Workspace provides has really helped guide us in making our company’s management more systematic,” says Kunjara.