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Use Rippling as your identity source of truth to automate Google Workspace provisioning, deprovisioning, and SSO — so access is always in sync with your HR data, from day one to last day.
The first step is always clarifying the identity architecture: is Rippling the primary IdP, or does the client have an existing Google Workspace directory they've been managing manually? For most mid-market implementations, we move them to a Rippling-first model — Rippling owns the employee record and provisions outbound to Google Workspace, not the other way around.
We then map the client's entity and domain structure, configure SAML SSO, and build the provisioning rules using Supergroups that reflect their actual org structure — department-based, role-based, or entity-based, depending on their needs. For companies with existing Google Workspace accounts, we run a reconciliation pass to match existing accounts to Rippling records before enabling provisioning, preventing duplicate account creation on go-live.
We also configure license tier assignment rules so the right employees get the right Google Workspace plan automatically, and document the full configuration so the client's IT team can maintain it as the org evolves.
For US companies, the most common pre-provisioning issue is employees using personal Gmail addresses for work — these conflict with Rippling's provisioning logic and need to be migrated to work accounts before go-live. For multi-entity US companies, ensure each entity maps to the correct Google Workspace org unit before enabling SCIM. Canadian and ROW companies with separate legal entities often have secondary domains or subdomains in Google Workspace that must be explicitly mapped in Rippling's provisioning rules — provisioning to the wrong domain causes authentication failures that require manual remediation.
Yes — Rippling acts as the identity provider, meaning Google Workspace account creation, updates, and deprovisioning are all driven by the employee record in Rippling. When a new hire is added, their Google account is provisioned automatically. When they leave, the account is suspended immediately as part of the offboarding workflow. Attribute changes in Rippling — name, department, manager — sync to Google Workspace automatically as well.
No — Rippling acts as the identity provider and provisions outbound to Google Workspace. Google Workspace is a downstream application in this model, not a co-equal directory. If your organization wants Google Workspace to remain the primary identity source, you are managing two identity systems simultaneously, which creates sync conflicts and operational overhead. The cleaner architecture is Rippling as the single source of truth, with Google Workspace as a provisioned downstream app.
Yes — Rippling's provisioning rules use Supergroups, which are dynamic groups built on any employee attribute in Rippling. You can assign specific Google Workspace licenses (Business Starter, Standard, Plus, Enterprise) to employees based on role, department, location, or any other attribute. When an employee's role changes, their license tier can update automatically to match — preventing both over-provisioning and under-provisioning.
Google Workspace SSO through Rippling gives employees one-click access to all Google services from the Rippling dashboard. Rippling manages the SAML configuration, enforces MFA policy centrally, and controls which employees have SSO access based on their Rippling attributes. This means IT has a single place to see and control Google Workspace access alongside every other connected application.
Yes — Google Workspace is one of the most common identity and provisioning configurations we set up during Rippling implementations. We handle the SSO configuration, SCIM provisioning setup, domain and entity mapping, Supergroup rule design, and reconciliation of any existing Google accounts before provisioning goes live. We also configure downstream provisioning for any apps that use Google Workspace as an SSO source alongside Rippling.
