A Google Professional Collaboration Engineer (GCP) exam candidate translates business objectives into tangible configurations, policies, and security practices for users, content, and integrations. The cloud platform has become one of the greatest achievements of the IT sector, and its numerous benefits have led to the widespread adoption of cloud technology.
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About Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Exam
A Google Cloud Professional Collaboration Engineer translates business goals into concrete configurations, policies, and security practices for users, content, and integrations. Collaboration Engineers use their knowledge of their company’s mail routing and identity management infrastructure to enable efficient and secure communication and data access. They use tools, programming languages, and APIs to automate workflows while maintaining an engineering and solutions mindset. While advocating for G Suite and the Google toolset, they look for opportunities to educate end-users and increase operational efficiency.
The Professional Collaboration Engineer Certification assesses your ability to:
- firstly, Plan and implement G Suite authorization and access
- secondly, Manage user, resource, and Team Drive lifecycles
- thirdly, Manage mail
- subsequently, Control and configure G Suite services
- furthermore, Configure and manage endpoint access
- in addition, Monitor organizational operations
- lastly, Advance G Suite adoption and collaboration
Let us now move forth to the main point of this article –
How to become a Google Professional Collaboration Engineer?
When it comes to the Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Exam, it is critical that you make the right decision and embark on a successful and rewarding career in the Google cloud platform. So let’s get started with the planning.
Step 1 – Know in-depth about the exam syllabus
Below mentioned is the detailed course outline for the exam along with the documentation and whitepapers offered by google –
Topic 1: Planning and implementing G Suite authorization and access
1.1 Implementing authorization policies. Considerations include:
- Basic user security controls (e.g., password length enforcement, and 2-Step verification) (Google Documentation: Manage a user’s security settings, Deploy 2-Step Verification)
- Security aspects of identity, perimeter security, and data protection (Google Documentation: Google Cloud Security, G Suite security and trust)
1.2 Using G Suite as a service provider. Considerations include:
- Configuring third-party SSO for G Suite (Google Documentation: Service Provider SSO, Set up single sign-on for managed Google Accounts using third-party Identity providers)
- Integrating with the third party for provisioning (Google Documentation: Enable SSO for cloud apps, Automate user provisioning across cloud apps)
1.3 Using G Suite as an identity provider. Considerations include:
- Configuring and managing SSO for common third-party applications (Google Documentation: Set up single sign-on for managed Google Accounts using third-party Identity providers, Set up your own custom SAML application)
- Configuring and managing for provisioning (Google Documentation: Automate user provisioning across cloud apps)
1.4 Managing access to third-party applications and sites. Activities include:
- Granting API access to applications that need access (Google Documentation: Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data, Control G Suite API access with the domain-wide delegation, Granting and revoking access to the API)
- Revoking third-party OAuth access (Google Documentation: Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data, Revoking Access to Google Cloud Platform)
- Removing connected applications and sites (Google Documentation: Manage third-party sites or apps you’ve linked with Google, Third-party sites & apps with access to your account)
Topic 2: Managing user, resource, and Shared Drive lifecycles
2.1 Managing users. Considerations include:
- Adding users (e.g., individual, bulk, automated) (Google Documentation: Add or update multiple users from a CSV file)
- Removing users (e.g., suspending, deleting, recovering) (Google Documentation: Delete or remove a user)
- Transferring user data from one user to another (Google Documentation: Migrating users between projects and tenants, Migrating users from an existing app)
- Editing user attributes (e.g., renaming, passwords, aliases) (Google Documentation: Create custom attributes for user profiles)
- Creating administrative roles (e.g., default roles, custom roles) (Google Documentation: Creating and managing custom roles, Understanding IAM custom roles)
- Managing user licenses (e.g., licensing models, G Suite SKUs) (Google Documentation: How licensing works)
- Troubleshooting conflicting accounts (Google Documentation: Conflicting accounts)
- Implications of current G Suite APIs to development efforts (Google Documentation: G Suite APIs)
- Using Google Apps Script to automate tasks (Google Documentation: Build web apps and automate tasks with Google Apps Script)
2.2 Synchronizing data in your Google domain with your Microsoft® Active Directory® or LDAP server. Considerations include:
- Integrating LDAP with G Suite (Google Documentation: Secure LDAP service, Add LDAP clients)
- Configuring and troubleshooting GSPS and GCDS (Google Documentation: Troubleshooting GSPS, Troubleshoot common GCDS issues)
- Implications of current G Suite APIs to development efforts (Google Documentation: G Suite APIs)
- Using Apps Script to automate tasks (Google Documentation: Build web apps and automate tasks with Google Apps Script)
2.3 Managing organizational structure. Considerations include:
- Designing efficient organizational unity (OU) structure based on business needs (Google Documentation: How the organizational structure works, Add an organizational unit, Modify the organizational structure)
- Assigning users to relevant OUs
- Modifying OU policies (Google Documentation: Creating and managing organization policies)
- Implications of current G Suite APIs to development efforts
- Using Apps Script to automate tasks (Google Documentation: Build web apps and automate tasks with Google Apps Script)
- Managing and verifying domains (Google Documentation: Verifying your domain)
- Using Google Takeout to export data (Google Documentation: Export your organization’s data)
- Managing company profile settings
2.4 Managing groups. Considerations include:
- Configuring Google Groups (Google Documentation: Create a group & choose group settings, Customize G Suite settings with configuration groups)
- Adding users to groups (Google Documentation: View, add, or remove group members, Add people to your group)
- Implications of current G Suite APIs to development efforts
- Using Apps Script to automate tasks (Google Documentation: Build web apps and automate tasks with Google Apps Script))
2.5 Managing contacts. Considerations include:
- Creating contacts (Google Documentation: Create contacts and contact groups)
- Sharing contacts (Google Documentation: Enable Contact Sharing)
- Implications of current G Suite APIs to development efforts
- Using Apps Script to automate tasks (Google Documentation: Build web apps and automate tasks with Google Apps Script)
Topic 3: Managing mail
3.1 Managing mail-related DNS settings. Activities include managing:
- The domain MX records (Google Documentation: Configure MX Records, Set up MX records for G Suite Gmail)
- domain SPF records (Google Documentation: Ensure mail delivery & prevent spoofing (SPF), Managing Records)
- domain DKIM records (Google Documentation: Add DKIM domain key to domain DNS records)
- the domain DMARC records (Google Documentation: Add your DMARC record)
3.2 Diagnosing and resolving mail routing issues. Considerations include:
- Analyzing mail flow (Google Documentation: Mail API Overview, Sending email from an instance)
- Analyzing email headers (Google Documentation: Trace an email with its full headers)
- Email log search (Google Documentation: Email Log Search, Track message delivery with Email Log Search)
- Disparate email services
- Using G Suite Toolbox (Google Documentation: G Suite Toolbox)
3.3 Configuring and managing security, compliance, and spam rules. Activities include configuring and managing:
- attachment compliance (Google Documentation: Set up rules for attachment compliance)
- blocked senders (Google Documentation: Block messages from an email address or domain)
- email allow list (Google Documentation: Whitelist IP addresses in Gmail)
- objectionable content (Google Documentation: Set up rules for objectionable content)
- phishing settings (Google Documentation: Advanced phishing and malware protection, Phishing Protection)
- spam settings (Google Documentation: Monitor the health of your Gmail settings, Customize spam filter settings in G Suite)
- admin quarantine (Google Documentation: Set up and manage email quarantines)
- secure transport compliance
- safety settings
3.4 Configuring mail routing rules. Considerations include configuring:
- split and dual delivery scenarios (Google Documentation: Configure dual delivery, Email routing and delivery options for G Suite)
- Implications of integrating third-party mail services (Google Documentation: Integrate Gmail with a third-party archiving solution)
- routing rules (Google Documentation: Routes overview
- recipient map (Google Documentation: Redirect incoming messages to another email address)
- non-Gmail mailbox (Google Documentation: Set up options for non-Gmail mailbox users)
- hosts
3.5 Configuring general mail settings. Activities include:
- the Configuring append footer setting (Google Documentation: Set up Gmail signatures for your users, Add a standard footer to users’ outbound messages)
- also, Configuring forwarding (Google Documentation: Forwarding rules overview)
- furthermore, The Configuring of SMTP relay (Google Documentation: SMTP relay
- moreover, Enabling email delegation for an OU (Google Documentation: Set up mail delegation, Turn Gmail delegation on or off)
- furthermore, Disabling IMAP and POP (Google Documentation: Turn POP and IMAP on and off for users)
- moreover, Managing Gmail archives
Topic 4: Controlling and configuring Google Workspace services:
4.1 Administering G Suite Services. Activities include:
- Managing rollout of new Google functionality to end-users (Google Documentation: Choose when users get new features)
- Troubleshooting G Suite services (e.g., performance issues for services suite, G Suite apps for OUs)
- Configuring services (Google Documentation: Managing Service Configurations
4.2 Configuring and managing G Suite core apps. Considerations include:
- Contacts/Directory (e.g., ability to make updates to Directory services or contact support or contacts sharing settings) (Google Documentation: Enable Contact Sharing)
- Calendar (e.g., Calendar sharing settings and delegations, Calendar resource management, Calendar invitations sent to Groups, troubleshooting calendar interoperability) (Google Documentation: Share room and resource calendars)
- Drive/Shared Drive (e.g., storage limitations in the Basic plan) (Google Documentation: Shared drive limits)
- also, Groups (e.g., creating and editing groups, banning group members from posting to the group) (Google Documentation: Managing Groups in the Cloud Console)
- furthermore, Chat/Meet (e.g., disabling Hangouts voice calls for organization, designing video conferencing integration of Hangouts with different endpoints, disabling bot access on new Hangouts chat)
- moreover, Sites (e.g., usage and implementation)
4.3 Managing services integrations. Activities include:
- Integrating third-party marketplace apps to specific OUs in G Suite (Google Documentation: Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data)
- also, Evaluating Marketplace and Connected app landscape (Google Documentation: Evaluate a G Suite Marketplace app’s security)
- furthermore, Managing private add-ons, chrome extensions, Appmaker Apps, etc.
- moreover, Adding SP to Cloud Identity (Google Documentation: Add Cloud Identity to your G Suite Account)
4.4 Implementing automation. Considerations include:
- API permissions (Google Documentation: IAM permissions reference, Permissions)
- also, Able to interact with APIs and lightweight scripting (Google Documentation: Creating API requests and handling responses)
- furthermore, Apps Script and App Maker capabilities (Google Documentation: Apps Script or App Maker)
- moreover, Service Accounts (Google Documentation: Service accounts)
Topic 5: Configuring and managing content access
5.1 Configuring and managing Vault. Activities include:
- Setting retention rules (e.g., setting retention rules, placing legal holds, searching your domain’s data by user account, OU, date, or keyword, exporting data for additional processing and review, auditing reports) (Google Documentation: Retention policies and retention policy locks)
- Holding and exporting data (Google Documentation: Best practices for importing and exporting data)
- Running Vault audit reports (Google Documentation: Audit Vault user activity)
5.2 Configuring and managing Drive and Team Drive. Activities include:
- Configuring sharing settings (e.g., updating sharing settings to external domains, controlling file access with Information Rights Management) (Google Documentation: Set Drive users’ sharing permissions, Sharing and collaboration, Access Control)
- Managing Drive folder structure (e.g., using Google Drive native file formats, recommending Google Drive and Team Drive file structures) (Google Documentation: Creating and managing Folders, Supported File Formats)
5.3 Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Activities include:
- Scanning email with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (Google Documentation: Scan your email traffic using DLP rules)
- Managing content compliance rules (Google Documentation: Set up rules for content compliance)
5.4 Implementing and monitoring data security. Activities include:
- Configuring security and data region (Google Documentation: Choose a geographic location for your data)
- also, Monitoring security health check (Google Documentation: Health checks overview)
- furthermore, Configuring security settings (Google Documentation: Setting up Security Command Center
- moreover, Creating security records
- also, Designing security integration and addressing objections. (Google Documentation: Google Infrastructure Security Design Overview
5.5 Managing third-party applications and access. Activities include:
- Backing up solutions of G Suite data for compliance (Google Documentation: Backing Up G Suite Data with Spinbackup)
- furthermore, Whitelisting OAuth apps (Google Documentation: Control which third-party & internal apps access G Suite data)
Topic 6: Configuring and managing endpoint access
6.1 Configuring mobile devices. Considerations include:
- Company-owned vs. personal devices (Google Documentation: Configuring company-owned devices)
- also, Configuring personal device settings (e.g., password, Android, iOS, advanced, device approvals, app management, insights) (Google Documentation: Manage devices with Google endpoint management, Set up advanced mobile management)
6.2 Provisioning, deprovisioning, and enabling Chrome devices (Google Documentation: Provisioning Overview, Set Chrome device policies)
6.3 Managing Google meeting room hardware (e.g., provisioning, de-provisioning, hanging up, calling, rebooting) (Google Documentation: Manage Google meeting room hardware)
6.4 Managing Chrome apps, extensions, and Android apps (Google Documentation: View and configure apps and extensions)
6.5 Configuring network settings (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN, certificates, and general.) (Google Documentation: Configuring network settings)
Topic 7: Monitoring organizational operations
7.1 Setting up and using reports (e.g., creating usage reports, measuring adoption and satisfaction) (Google Documentation: Creating and viewing analysis reports
7.2 Setting up and using audits (e.g., auditing document sharing, auditing Gmail and drive, auditing users) (Google Documentation: Best practices for working with Google Cloud Audit Logs)
7.3 Interpreting report and audit data and taking appropriate action. (Google Documentation: Cloud Audit Logs) Examples include:
- Troubleshooting and escalating support issues to Google Partner support or Google Engineering (Google Documentation: Best Practices for Working with Cloud Support)
- Troubleshooting error logs (Google Documentation: Troubleshooting)
- Identifying data leakage scenarios and implementing ways to prevent
- Streaming audit data to BigQuery (Google Documentation: BigQuery audit logs overview, Streaming data into BigQuery)
7.4 Managing alerts (e.g., suspicious logging activity, apps outages, TLS failure, user deleted) (Google Documentation: Managing alerting policies)
Topic 8: Advancing G Suite adoption and collaboration
8.1 Building business solutions and processes. Examples include:
- Creating a simple workflow using App Maker (Google Documentation: App Maker templates)
- Creating simple processes using Apps Script (Google Documentation: Google Cloud Platform Projects)
- Also, Creating team project sites (Google Documentation: Create a team site)
8.2 Staying up-to-date with G Suite. Examples include:
- Using Google and partner support channels (Google Documentation: Google Cloud partner support)
- Accessing and interpreting G Suite roadmap (Google Documentation:
- Staying aware of new features and functionality in G Suite (Google Documentation: What’s new in G Suite)
Step 2 – Know about the Exam Format
Another thing that the candidate should be aware of is the fundamentals of the exam.
Obtaining every detail of the exam is regarded as a good step toward preparation. This exam has nearly 50 questions that must be answered in 2 hours. The cost of taking the exam is $200, plus any applicable taxes. Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Exam Questions are presented in multiple-choice and multiple select formats. The exam has no prerequisites, but Google recommends 3+ years of industry experience, including 1+ year G Suite administration experience.
The Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Exam is offered in both English and Japanese. By creating a Google Webassessor account, you can register for the exam online.
Step 3 – Gather all other important details about the exam
These are some policies of which you should be aware of when you will be taking this exam –
Exam Scheduling policy
You are free to schedule the exam in any way that is convenient for you. Google has specified two methods-
- If you want to take the exam online, you must first create an account on Webassessor and then register for the exam.
- If you want to take the exam through an onsite proctored method, you can choose the exam and then a testing centre near you or at your convenience.
Retake policy
If you fail the exam, unless otherwise stated, you may retake it, but you must wait at least fourteen (14) days before doing so. Furthermore, If you fail the exam a second time, you may retake it after waiting at least sixty (60) days. Moreover, If you fail the exam a third time, you may retake it, but you must wait at least one (1) year.
Recertification Policy
To keep their certification status, candidates must recertify. All of the information is clearly stated in the exam’s detailed description, and all Google Cloud certifications are valid for two years from the date of certification. Recertification can be attempted beginning 60 days before your certification expiration date.
Any attempt to recertify or attempt the same exam while currently certified prior to this time period will result in a rejected attempt, forfeiture of any exam fees paid, possible revocation of your current certification as well as any other Google Cloud certifications, and suspension from the Google Certification Program.
Step 4 – Refer to the best Resources
Different resources have distinct sets of knowledge and understandings. In academic life, however, revision should be done on a case-by-case basis. As a result, matching the type of revision you do on your resource material is critical.
Official site visit
First and foremost, the exam’s official website provides information about the exam’s various technicalities. The official website also mentions a number of resources, including the Professional Collaboration Engineer Practice Exam and the G Suite Administration Specialization. Google also provides a platform for hands-on exam practice. This exam is intended to assess technical skills relevant to the job role. In addition to being familiar with the day-to-day tasks performed by the G Suite administrator, use Qwiklabs’ hands-on labs to learn about G Suite integrations to advance your knowledge and skills.
Books
Second, you can refer to any book that you are familiar with and that is appropriate for your level of comprehension. You can also consult the books recommended by Google. Visiting libraries and conducting research on the best books on the market will help you improve the quality of your preparation to a greater extent. Some books that you can refer to and are easily accessible are listed below:
- firstly, Official Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Study Guide
- also, Professional Cloud Architect – Google Cloud Certification Guide: A handy guide to designing, developing, and managing enterprise-grade GCP
- in addition, Google Cloud Platform for Data Engineering: Learn fundamental to advanced data engineering concepts and techniques using 30+ real-world use
- lastly, Hands-on G Suite for Administrators
Practice papers and test series
Third, the Professional Collaboration Engineer Practice Exam and test series are used to assess your level of preparation. They will also assist you in identifying weak points in your preparation and reducing silly mistakes. Practicing for the exam in this manner will help you identify your flaws and reduce the likelihood of making mistakes on exam day. Furthermore, there are numerous trustworthy sources that provide high-quality content, such as numerous online educational sites. Now is the time to take a free practice test!
Online trainings and instructor led courses
Finally, for preparation, you can choose between Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Training and instructor-led courses. They are sufficiently interactive and provide a forum for proper discussion. They also provide relevant study material such as notes and recorded lectures to help make things clear.
Step 5 – Take the exam in accordance with the Expert’s Advice
You must have the proper resources to absorb the best knowledge required to pass this exam. According to our experts, consistent practice and determination can help you easily pass the exam. From now on, a combination of hard work, consistency, and the right resources will propel you to success. Hurry up and get started on your preparations!
Finally, the Google Professional Collaboration Engineer Exam is worthwhile to attempt. If you pass the exam, you will be able to gain global recognition. This exam is also a step toward obtaining the desired job. You will undoubtedly pass the exam if you have the right set of resources.
