AgVoice | A look at Google Drive

Google launched their much awaited cloud offering, Google Drive on April 24th to the public. The reason there was so much hype and excitement surrounding the event was because this marks the first time Internet Biggies like Google are finally entering a game that was created and built by young upstarts like Dropbox and Sugarsync barely a few years ago. Dropbox came to be because of their founder, Drew Houston’s need for accessing all his files from any device. Slowly, other services like Box, Sugarsync and the like started coming into the picture until there were enough services that both casual and business users could use to save their files in the cloud. You can say that Microsoft was the earliest among them with their SkyDrive but they did not push it enough and hence it squandered away its first mover advantage.  
 
Google Drive comes as a result of the new direction that Google is taking. The introduction of Google+ and Larry Page taking over as Google’s CEO were the first steps towards that approach. They have shut down many of their products in favor of a more integrated approach. Google could have easily bought out Dropbox as they have done in the past with other services like Youtube and Docs. Dropbox has been rigidly independent as was evidenced from their refusal of the $800 million dollar acquisition deal which came from Steve Jobs himself. Their refusal of this deal forced Apple to develop their own cloud solution, iCloud. Dropbox may not have worked for Google because the service would have to be rewritten to accommodate Google’s products. Thus, it was better for Google to develop their own cloud storage solution. Let us dive deep into what Google Drive is and how you can use it. 
 
Pricing: The first thing that comes to mind about Google Drive is the attractive and affordable pricing options that it offers. The chart compiled by Ars Technica shows the pricing of all the major competitors in the Cloud Storage market. Here is it is below: 
 
CLICK HERE to see the chart (Source: Arstechnica) 
 
Most of the services are missing something or the other. The cheapest one among these services is Box but it has a limitation on the amount of data storage it provides for personal users. If you are looking for true cross-platform support then services like Drive, Dropbox and Sugarsync are excellent. Dropbox remains the most expensive service in terms of cost per GB. Drive is comparatively cheaper and offers most of the features that others offer. 
 
Integration: Google Drive can definitely be a winner because of the fact that it will support all of Google’s products in a native manner. Imagine getting a really important file in your mail. You could save it to your Drive in one click. Everything you find using Google’s services could be saved in your Drive besides your personal stuff. No third-party apps, just one simple and secure service for all your needs. Google addicts will love this! 
 
CLICK HERE to see the chart 
 
Cross-Platform: One of the biggest reasons for Google’s success is the fact that they made sure that their services were cross-platform. Their web and desktop products can be used on Windows, Linux and the Mac. Different kinds of platforms are growing and people’s choices are increasing. Drive is available for PC, Mac and Android. Google has promised support for iOS and Linux in the coming days. 
 
Free Storage: Google Drive has 5GB as free storage which is not very much compared to SkyDrive’s 7GB or Dropbox’s 18GB (This is possible if you refer the service to your friends and use the Android app). If anyone can give users more free space, then it is Google. Companies like Dropbox lose a lot of money giving away free space but they still do it because the popular referral program helps spread the reach of Dropbox wider. Google on the other hand could easily give users an increased amount of free space. Still, 5 GB is quite a lot if you use Drive only for documents, music and small videos. India’s Internet speeds are not at par with International standards yet so 5GB will probably be more than enough for most people. If you are using it heavily in a professional capacity then the 25-100 GB plans are recommended. 
 
Privacy Concerns: The launch of Google Drive resulted in a lot of speculation about privacy by bloggers and users. Google has been accused in the last couple of years of trying to control user’s data but I am sure that is not their goal. Google wants every service to be automated and this requires accurate data from users. The data provided by users makes it easy for Google to serve the right information. The privacy policy for Drive says that all of the user’s data on Drive will become Google’s intellectual property. This is necessary for them to store it properly and translate if need be. The privacy concern over Google’s services is overhyped and I don’t think it should be that much of an issue. | By Rajiv Dingra, CEO, WATConsult
 
About the writer:
 
Rajiv Dingra have over 6 years of experience observing, analyzing, and critiquing the digital space in India. Since 6 years ge has been a digital entrepreneur that has track record of of successfully managing multiple business units in media, events and social media.
 
Dingra currently heading his second company WATMedia Pvt Ltd which aims to connect Web, Advertising and Technology Space in India. The core business area are Media (via network of blogs), A Social Media Agency via WATConsult.com and Digital Centric Events like WATSummit.
 
Currently Dingra leads a team of 60+ people and the company has presence in Mumbai and Gurgaon. He also a well known speaker at conferences and events on digital media across the world as well as a mentor to various entrepreneurship cells in the country. 
 
Dingra specilizes in Understanding of the Indian Online and Mobile Space and Understanding of Web 2.0 driven user engagements.
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