Google User Sync - Open Beta

This article describes the Google user sync integration, how to enable it, and considerations for its use.

Google User Sync enables admins to connect company-level accounts to Google Workspace accounts and automatically import users from Google to Phin, similar to the Azure User Sync for Microsoft users. Our privacy policy is here.

How Do I Enable Google User Sync?

1. Navigate to the integration page using the sidebar at the company level.
2. Click the 'Google User Sync' tile.
3. Carefully read the permissions related to how Phin will use the connection established between the Phin application and Google Workspace.
4. Click Continue, where you will be redirected to the Google permissions page. Once you've selected and confirmed the Google permissions, you will be redirected back to the integration within Phin.
5. Congrats! You should now see the Google User Sync page, where you can manage groups or organizational units that will be automatically synced from Google Phin.

Managing Users in Google User Sync

1. Select your source type: Groups or Organizational Units (OUs).
   1. IMPORTANT! You can only sync users from one source type at a time. Switching from Groups to Organizational Units after enabling auto sync will end the sync, and it must be re-established by choosing new groups/OUs.
2. Use the drop-down menu to add one or more Groups/OUs. The table below the drop-down menu will display employee information, including their name, email, and source location.
   1. You will see the total number of users staged above the table on the right side update as you add and remove Groups/OUs.
   2. This number reflects staged users prior to enabling the auto sync.
3. Click 'Enable Auto Sync' once you are ready to sync users into Phin.
   1. A notification will show you if enabling auto sync was successful. After a successful sync, you can navigate to the user management page to see the synced users.
   2. If it is not successful, you will be prompted to retry. If the sync repeatedly fails, here are the steps you should take:
      
      1. Disconnect and reconnect the feature
      2. Re-select Groups/OUs and click 'Enable Auto Sync' to re-attempt the sync.
      3. If the sync continues to fail, please feel free to reach out to our support team.
4. After enabling the auto sync, when you add and remove Groups/OUs, the integration will save your choices automatically for the next time the sync runs.
   1. Alternatively, you can choose 'Sync Now' to push changes immediately.

What's the difference between Groups and Organizational Units?

In Google Workspace, Organizational Units (OUs) structure your organization's hierarchy and determine which services and features are available to a group of users. However, Google Groups allows for more granular control, enabling you to customize settings and access for specific users or groups without altering the organizational structure. 

How does Google User Sync deal with de-duplicating users?

• End-user records are matched on their email. When Google User Sync is enabled, the integration looks for potential duplicate records and updates manually input records with the user record identified from the sync. 
  • This does not affect the user's active training and training history.
• If a single user is found across multiple groups, the group column will represent this, but only one user record will be imported into Phin.

Additional considerations after enabling auto-sync

1. Auto-sync runs every 6 hours, and you can identify the next run time at the bottom left of the user table on the Google User Sync page.
2. If you have already enabled automatic welcome emails for the company, new users who have been synced will receive one without further configuration.
3. The same goes for campaigns.
   1. For example, if a continuous campaign was set up before enabling Google user sync, and the newly synced users match the audience filter for segments such as full company or department, these users will automatically be enrolled in that campaign without further configuration.
   2. If users were imported manually and are found during the sync process, the data being pulled from Google user sync and the manual input data will be merged, with the sync data acting as the source of truth for the user going forward.
4. Users who have been slept prior to turning on Google user sync will remain slept after enabling the sync and must be unslept on the user management page.
5. Users who are deleted from Google Workspace will be slept in Phin.
6. If a user's information changes in Google Workspace, that will be reflected in Phin during the next scheduled sync.

Knowledge Base

Phin works to update our Knowledge Base with new features with every release. You can read about the platform and its updates here: https://www.phinsec.io/knowledge.

Thanks for using our product!

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The Dev Team @ Phin

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