Google Workspace Group and OU Filter

Topic

This article explains Google Groups and Organizational Units (OU) in NinjaOne SaaS Backup.

Environment

NinjaOne SaaS Backup
Google Workspace

Description

In Google Workspace, a Group is a collection of users managed as a single entity, while an Organizational Unit (OU) organizes users, devices, and settings. Both Groups and OUs help manage users, settings, and permissions, often working together to streamline access. For instance, a tenant might place members into OUs to apply specific access policies, then use Groups to control access to shared resources like files or calendars.

Understanding Groups and OUs

Groups: Collections of users with shared access needs. For example, “marketing@sample.co,” “product@sample.co,” “engineering@sample.co”.
Organizational Units (OUs): Structures for applying policies in Google Workspace. For example, Marketing, Product, or Engineering OUs with specific app settings.

Our filtering feature for Google Workspace backups lets you manage mailbox accounts based on Groups or Organizational Units (OUs) for enhanced control and streamlined management. This feature allows you to back up only relevant accounts, saving time by removing the need for manual operations or CSV uploads. You can use this feature both when adding a new tenant backup and when managing existing backed-up tenants.

Add a New Google Workspace Backup

You can add Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or other backups by selecting + Add Backup from the NinjaOne SaaS Backup End-User Portal dashboard. Be sure that your role has permission to add new backup accounts. To learn more about role access permissions, refer to User-Management (End-User Portal).

Follow the steps below to add a new Google Workspace backup:

Log in to NinjaOne SaaS Backup End-User Portal.
From the dashboard, select + Add Backup.
The Add New Backup option will appear. Choose Google Workspace by clicking Sign in with Google Workspace.
Follow the provided setup steps.

NinjaOne SaaS Backup deactivates Auto Discovery by default. You can activate it by selecting the Auto Discovery toggle. When activated, NinjaOne SaaS Backup will scan the environment once a day to check for new users and automatically add them to backups. To learn more about Auto Discovery, refer to the Auto-Discover and Auto-licensing Guide.

Manage Existing Backed-Up Google Workspace Tenants

You can manage existing backed-up accounts from the Add Backup page. To do so, follow these steps:

Log in to NinjaOne SaaS Backup End-User Portal.
From the dashboard, select + Add Backup.
The Add from Existing option will appear. Select the tenant you want to manage.
After selecting the tenant, you can add accounts you want to back up, activate Auto Discovery, and configure Group and Organizational Unit filters.

Apply Group or OU Filters

You can apply the OU and Group filters by following these steps:

From the dashboard, click Add Backup and select your Google Workspace tenant.
On the Select to Add Backup page, locate the Account Information section.
Next to Filter Accounts, click Edit.

**Figure 1**: Filter Accounts (click to enlarge)

The Filter by Group(s) and/or Organizational Unit(s) dialog will appear.

Enter your preferred Groups and Organizational Units.
Click Apply.

**Figure 2**: Filter by Group(s) and/or Organizational Unit(s) (click to enlarge)

NinjaOne SaaS Backup will not back up Users outside the selected Groups or Organizational Units. There is no limit to the number of Organizational Units you can select. However, you can only select up to 10 Groups.

If NinjaOne SaaS backup is no longer including any previously backed-up accounts in the applied OU/Group filter, NinjaOne SaaS Backup will prompt you with an additional dialog. The purpose of this dialog is to ensure you are fully aware of any backed-up accounts that exist outside the active filter configuration and let you take the appropriate action.

The dialog presents the following options:

Keep: Continue backing up the account
Deactivate: Stop backup activity while retaining backup data
Delete: Remove the backup data entirely. The delete option is only available for organizations with a backup plan.

**Figure 3**: Keep, Deactivate, or Delete (click to enlarge)

You can click Download CSV file if you'd like to review the list of affected accounts.

After you select your desired action, click Continue.

The Filter Change Confirmation page will appear. Review your selected action, then click Submit & Apply Filter to proceed.

**Figure 4**: Filter Change Confirmation (click to enlarge)

Once completed, a notification will appear, indicating NinjaOne SaaS Backup has successfully applied the OU/Group filter.

**Figure 5:** Filter is successfully applied (click to enlarge)

Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I filter multiple Groups or OUs?

OUs have no restriction on filtering, but Groups are limited to a maximum of ten.

Can I delete previous Group or OU filters?

Yes, you can edit or delete a previous filter by clicking Edit Filter Accounts, selecting Reset All, then applying the changes.

Why can’t I find my Groups or OUs in the selection box?

Newly added Groups or OUs may take time to sync. Click Refresh to update the list.

Do I need to re-authenticate all tenants?

Yes, each tenant must be re-authenticated individually to activate the new filter.

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