Google Drive is one of the biggest players in the personal cloud storage space. Its biggest competitors are OneDrive, Box and Dropbox. But is it right for you? This article follows on from our last post of moving from Dropbox to Google Drive and some of the reasons when moving to Google Drive may be right for you.
Google gives the most space for free
Compared to Google’s rivals, Google offers 15GB for free, the most available on the market right now. This is great news for light users who need some data on the cloud but aren't looking to store terabytes.
Most other cloud storage platforms offer 2–5GB. If you don’t have much data, this can work a treat, especially to back up your mobile device's photos online.
Google Photos included
Speaking of photos, Google Photos is an app that has incredible power compared to its competitors. Most other providers just upload your photos to the cloud; Google Photos does it better.
Once the photo is happily in your cloud the app automatically removes the photo from your physical device to save space there. Now the photos are in the cloud ready for you to find using their Smart Search.
Use your existing Gmail account
If you have a Gmail account already, you can start using Google Drive for free. Google Workspace accounts for organizations come with a monthly cost, but you also get a company email address and at least 30GB for month, with more storage and features on higher subscription tiers.
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides included
With Google Drive, you get free applications you can use online, including Google Docs, Sheets, Note, and Google Slides. These are a great alternative to Microsoft Office 365 and are free to use for anyone with a Google Account. Although they're free, they still cover the needs of most organizations with basic functionality included along with regular updates that add new features.
The best thing, is they all integrate together which allows you to cross-reference and collaborate on information easily. And the Best perk? All your files automatically save to your Drive easily!
Affordable pricing
Compared to some of its rivals, Google Drive is very competitive, it gives you the granularity to only upgrade your storage space should you wish and it offers a small plan to start with for 100GB at only $2.99 a month. Most of the others force you to jump to Terabytes of data and with that comes the price!
Access your data everywhere
The perk of cloud storage is that you can access your data, everywhere, on the Google Apps, on all of your devices and with other apps that automatically integrate with Google. Better yet, back your computer up and all your files automatically to Google Drive. T
hat way should your computer not turn on one day, all you need to do when you get your new computer is install Google Drive and BAM! All your files are there automatically.
Familiarity
In some aspects Google is the internet. Because of Google being the familiar internet backbone that we have come to know, it makes it easier for trust such a large company that is so intertwined in our daily lives. As Google supports the education sector, most people coming from educational institutions (as well as startups too) have adapted to Google and due to this, it has become a known tool.
Simplicity
Google “just works”. It’s built for the individuals in mind, its products are simple and look sleek. There are no complex enterprise “nerd knobs” to adjust your settings to cause confusion or get lost configuring something. Need to share something? Then click “share”, want to move something into a different folder, then drag it. It’s intuitive and fun.
Should you move to Google Drive?
As a straightforward and affordable cloud storage option, Google is a great choice for many organizations. Overall, it's a friendly, easy-to-use, and familiar system that has all the bells and whistles for an individual, or a team. If you need somewhere to save some documents and photos, then Google has you covered.
If you need help moving into Google Drive, try Movebot. Movebot can move files from over 30 storage platforms including an on-prem file server to Google Drive. With fast speeds and affordable pricing, Movebot is quick, easy, and won't break the bank. Plus, you can try Movebot free for 14 days and see if it's right of you.
