I have finally passed my last pro exam on my GCP list! It occurred to be the toughest on as I mainly work work Anthos and I am only a G Suite user. This exam has nothing to do with GCP itself and is all on G Suite. I took me around 3-4 weeks of very intensive study prepare. I find my previous experience with AD, GPOs and Exchange super useful to understand some concepts in G Suite. If i had to prepare for this exam in a non-rush mode iI think i would need 2-3 months to prepare starting from ground 0.

Even thought I am not a G Suite admin I found it great to learn about it and I will definitely use this knowledge at work.

The exam is 50 Multiple-choice questions and last 2 hours. This is more then enough. I answered all of them in 1h and then reviewed till the time finished.

Tip #1

You need to buy G Suite (domain + subscription) at least for 14 days. Without access to the admin console you will fail.

Top Tips

• You will never feel fully prepared for this exam! The scope is massive!
• All question are related to Admin Console not to particular applications (e.g. how to create formula in Sheets)
• Yes you need to remember where to click in the console to get to particular configuration settings.
• Logging and Auditing is super important (for all components of G suite)
• Migration and removal of user data is super important! This includes all services user was assigned with (Drive, Mail etc.)
• Authentication for both users and applications is super important
• Gmail is around 20% – so understand routing, spam, security, tracing, smtp relay.
• Calendar and resources management is super important.
• Understand G Suite release cycles and how to get info about the new features.
• Understand rollout strategies
• Understand user and groups management
• Understand what OU and groups are used for and what are the differences (hierarchy, settings)
• Understand application management both G Suite as well as custom apps.
• Understand what device you can manage (e.g Android, ChromeOS, iOS) and how you do it.
• Understand how you sync catalog and manage attributes like passwords.
• Understand how you manage calendars (persona and shared)
• Understand SSO, Cloud Identity, SAML applications and LDAP Server topics. This might be super confusing at the beginning to understand who is the IdP in each of those. Make sure you are super clear on it.
• There are questions around AppMaker and Apps Script.
• Understand backups with Vault
• Understand how you manage contact

Guide:

I must say the guide is pretty accurate, but the scope is massive. Reading the docs seems to be a never ending story (see the list of links in the end of the post). You can find the link bellow:

https://cloud.google.com/certification/guides/collaboration-engineer

Video training

Coursera – most of them are actually hands exercises you need to do yourself

• ttps://www.coursera.org/learn/g-suite-security/
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/introduction-g-suite/
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/g-suite-mail-management/
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/managing-g-suite
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/cloud-identity

I very much liked to Udemy Training but it is over 20h!

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-course-to-manage-g-suite/learn/lecture/9363706#overview

Tests:

I recommend to take the bellow test and if you don’t feel comfortable with the answers do more reading until you can do at least 90% every time. The questions do not appear in the exam but are very useful to understand what you still don’t know.

Official mock test

https://cloud.google.com/certification/practice-exam/collaboration-engineer

Coursera Tests (need to enroll) :

• https://www.coursera.org/learn/g-suite-security/home/assignments
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/introduction-g-suite/home/assignments
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/g-suite-mail-management/home/assignments
• https://www.coursera.org/learn/managing-g-suite/home/assignments

Hands On

Try out this Qwiklabs:

• G Suite: Integrations | Qwiklabs
• G Suite Essentials | Qwiklabs

And finally never ending list of links i used for study :). I frankly don’t believe this is enough.

• Setup & configuration – G Suite Admin Help
• Add users who have existing Google Accounts – G Suite Admin Help
• What is email envelope and email header · MyBlueLinux.com
• About conflicting accounts – G Suite Admin Help
• Find and manage existing accounts – G Suite Admin Help
• Configure dual delivery – G Suite Admin Help
• Apply aliases to recipient addresses – G Suite Admin Help
• Apply aliases to recipient addresses – G Suite Admin Help
• SMTP relay: Route outgoing non-Gmail messages through Google – G Suite Admin Help
• Trace an email with its full headers – Gmail Help
• Set up an outbound mail gateway – G Suite Admin Help
• Email routing and delivery – G Suite Admin Help
• Whitelisting By Header In GSuite/Google Apps – Knowledge Base
• Set up mail delegation – G Suite Learning Center
• Informacje o DMARC – Administrator G Suite – Pomoc
• Informacje o rekordach TXT – Administrator G Suite – Pomoc
• Wix Support
• Konfigurowanie zabezpieczeń poczty na potrzeby G Suite – Google Domains – Pomoc
• 2. Add Wi-Fi networks – Google Chrome Enterprise Help
• Set Chrome policies for users or browsers – Google Chrome Enterprise Help
• Update your Chromebook’s operating system – Chromebook Help
• Manage updates on Chrome devices – Google Chrome Enterprise Help
• Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data – G Suite Admin Help
• Manage access to third-party apps with new G Suite security controls
• _Create a group & choose group settings – Google Groups Help
• Turn Directory on or off – G Suite Admin Help
• G Suite Updates Blog: Better information on spam messages in Email Log Search
• SMTP relay: Route outgoing non-Gmail messages through Google – G Suite Admin Help
• _Share room and resource calendars – G Suite Admin Help
• Get site analytics – G Suite Learning Center
• How retention works – Google Vault Help
• Set up rules for content compliance – G Suite Admin Help
• Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data – G Suite Admin Help
• About advanced mobile device management – G Suite Admin Help
• File exposure report – G Suite Admin Help
• Set up your sync with Configuration Manager – G Suite Admin Help
• Konfiguracja G Suite Password Sync – Administrator G Suite – Pomoc
• What is synced? – G Suite Admin Help
• Administrator setup for GSMMO – G Suite Admin Help
• G Suite migration tools product matrix – G Suite Admin Help
• Share room and resource calendars – G Suite Admin Help
• _Delete a user from your organization – G Suite Admin Help
• Restore a recently deleted user – G Suite Admin Help
• Get started: Vault administrators – Google Vault Help
• Get started with Vault search and export – Google Vault Help
• Understand and grant Vault privileges – Google Vault Help
• Allow an external user to access Vault – Google Vault Help
• Share matters with other Vault users – Google Vault Help
• Preventing Data Exfiltration  |  Documentation  |  Google Cloud
• Ways to track new releases – G Suite Admin Help
• Choose when users get new features – G Suite Admin Help
• File exposure report – G Suite Admin Help
• Security dashboard reports – G Suite Admin Help
• _About the security dashboard – G Suite Admin Help
• Manage your organization’s mobile devices – G Suite Admin Help
• Monitor your users’ computers – G Suite Admin Help
• Device requirements for Google endpoint management – G Suite Admin Help
• Compare mobile management features – G Suite Admin Help
• About Chrome device management – Google Chrome Enterprise Help
• Introduction to Chrome Enterprise – Google Chrome Enterprise Help
• _Customize access to G Suite services using access groups – G Suite Admin Help
• Difference between Google Groups and Organisational Units
• Porównanie usług G Suite, takich jak Gmail, Dokumenty czy Arkusze, i ich funkcji
• Gmail phishing attacks | G Suite Tips
• Guides for Switching from Microsoft – G Suite Learning Center
• GCDS FAQ – G Suite Admin Help
• Set up buildings, features, and other resources – G Suite Admin Help
• How licensing works – G Suite Admin Help
• Set up password recovery for users – G Suite Admin Help
• Reset a user’s password – G Suite Admin Help
• Delete a user from your organization – G Suite Admin Help
• 5 steps to securely transfer G Suite data when an employee leaves your company – TechRepublic
• About the Secure LDAP service – G Suite Admin Help
• About the security investigation tool – G Suite Admin Help
• Get started with the security health page – G Suite Admin Help
• About the security dashboard – G Suite Admin Help
• View and manage alerts in the alert center – G Suite Admin Help
• Compare mobile management features – G Suite Admin Help

Goog luck and let me know if you have any tips!