What is Organizational Unit(OU) & how do Create/Manage an Organizational Unit(OU)?

Organizational Unit(OU)

What is an Organizational Unit(OU)?

To apply different settings to a set of users or to Chrome devices, create a child organizational unit below your top-level organization and place them in it. You can then apply unique settings to that organizational unit.

An organizational unit is simply a group that an administrator can create in the Google Admin console to apply settings to a specific set of users. By default, all users are placed in the top-level (parent) organizational unit. Child organizational units inherit the settings from the parent but can be changed to fit the needs of the child organizational unit.

How to create a new organizational unit

Sign in to your Google Admin console.

• Sign in to your Google Admin console.

• From the Admin console Home page, go to Menu > Directory >  Organizational units.

• Hover over the organization you want to modify and click Create new organizational unit.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• In the Name of organizational unit field, enter the new group's name.
  (Optional) To add a description of the organization, enter it in the Description field.

• (Optional) To add a description of the organization, enter it in the Description field.

• (Optional) To place the organization under a different parent organization:

  • •  Under the Parent organizational unit, click Edit.

    • Choose a parent organization.

    • Click Done.
      
      

• Click Create.

You can also add an organization by clicking Create organizational unit a the top left of the Organizational Units page.

Move, rename, or delete an organizational unit

You can change your organizational tree from the Google Admin console by adding, renaming, moving, or deleting devices, users, or organizational units.

Move an organizational unit

• In the Admin console, go to Menu > Directory > Organizational units.

• Point to the organizational unit you want to move.

• Click Move.

  

• Select an organizational unit.

• Click Continue.

• Review the information about moving the organizational unit.

• Click Move.

Rename an organizational unit

• In the Admin console, go to Menu > Directory > Organizational units.

• Point to the organizational unit you want to rename.

• Click More > Edit.

• At the Name of organizational unit, enter a new name.

• (Optional) At Description, enter text.

• Click Update.

Delete an organizational unit

If you intend to delete a parent organizational unit, you must first remove any shared drives, child organizational units, users, and devices it might include.

Step 1: Update shared drives

Move shared drives to other organizational units. You need to move all shared drives out of the organizational unit you want to delete, and out of any of its child organizational units so you can delete those, too.

(Optional but recommended) Review your shared drive creation settings and make sure that the organizational unit (and any child organizational units) you want to delete isn’t set as the default location for new shared drives. Otherwise, users won’t be able to create shared drives. However, you can still delete an organizational unit if it is set as a default location. Learn how to update shared drive creation settings

Step 2: Delete child organizational units

• In the Admin console, go to Menu > Directory > Organizational units.

• Point to the organizational unit you want to move.

• Click More > Delete.

• Repeat as needed for multiple child organizational units.

• Note: Deletion can take up to 48 hours. 

Step 3: Move or delete users.

For details on:

• Moving users from one unit to another, you can find it on the same page under Move users to another organizational unit.

• Deleting one or more users, go to  Delete or remove a user from your organization.

Step 4: Move or deprovision devices.

 

Move or deprovision Chrome devices

• In the Admin console, go to Menu > Devices > Chrome > Devices.

• Select the organizational unit that you want to delete.

  By default, an organizational unit shows only provisioned devices.

• Click Status > All > Apply.

• Check the box next to the devices you want to move or deprovision.

• Choose an option:

  • To move devices, you can find it in the same page under Move a ChromeOS device to an organizational unit
  • To deprovision devices:

• • • Click Trash.

    • Review the information, check the box to confirm that you understand the upgrade policy, deprovisioning steps, and enrollment steps > click Deprovision.

After you remove any shared drives, child organizational units, users, and devices, you can delete the organizational unit. To do so, follow the same steps (on this page) that take you to Delete child organizational units.

Move users to another organizational unit

Each user in your Google Admin console belongs to an organizational unit that determines which features and services the user can access. By default, all users belong to your account's top-level organization. But you can move a user to a sub-organization you create. The user can then access the features and services available to that sub-organization.

• In the Admin console, go to Menu > Directory > Users.

• In the Users list, find the user. 

• Click the user's name to open the user's account page.

• On your left under the user’s name click on Change Organization Unit.
  
  
  
  
  

• Choose the new organization from the dialog box, and then click Continue. 

• In the confirmation message, review the information about moving the users to a different organization.

• Click Change.

(Skip this step if you went to the user's profile page.)

• To move a single user, find the user in the Users list. Then check the box for the user.

• To move multiple users, check the box for each user you want to move in the Users list.

• To move users in bulk, at the top, click Bulk update users > download your users > update column Org Unit path. 

-> At the top, click More >  Change organizational unit. 

-> Choose the new organization from the dialog box, and then click Continue. 

-> In the confirmation message, review the information about moving the users to a different organization.

-> Click Change.

Move a ChromeOS device to an organizational unit

For administrators who manage ChromeOS devices for a business or school.

When you enroll ChromeOS devices in your Google Admin console, they automatically go in the top-level organizational unit. To apply different settings to a set of ChromeOS devices, put them in their own organizational unit, below your top-level organizational unit. You can then apply settings to just devices in that organizational unit.

• In the Admin console, go to Menu >  Devices > Chrome > Devices.

• On the left, click the organizational unit the device is in.

  Tip: If you don't know which organizational unit a device is in, you can search by device serial number or user. 

• Check the box next to the device you want to move.

• At the top, click Move.

  

• Choose the organization that you want to move the device to.

• Click Move.