Google Drive Shakes Up Cloud Storage Market

Drew Garcia, Vice-President of Product Development at SugarSync, told eWEEK that “Google Drive has been rumoured for over four years now, so it comes as no surprise to anyone in the cloud market that Google would be entering this space. The Google Drive service that was launched today is a strong validation that the cloud has gone mainstream, but it does not address the needs of the average user.”

Like most other cloud services, Garcia said, Google Drive does not let users sync all of their files and folders from their existing file structure.

“Users are required to drag the files they need into Google Drive, essentially putting them in an extra location (in addition to their existing folder structure). SugarSync lets users access, sync and share all of their folders without requiring them to put those folders in a separate location. This allows users to work the way they already work, as opposed to learning a new behaviour,” Garcia said.

File Conversion May Be an Issue

Another reason the average user may have trouble with Google Drive is that key functionality is available only if the user converts their documents (e.g., Microsoft Word doc, etc.) to the Google Docs format, Garcia said.

“This presents several problems: The user now has two versions of the file and may run into version control issues.  Also, the user can edit the Google Doc version only when online since editing takes place in the browser; this also means the user cannot use robust desktop applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) to make changes to the converted document.” Garcia said.

“Finally, sharing is convenient only if the sender shares the Google Doc version of a file; if the user shares the original version in Microsoft Word format, the recipient can view the document, but cannot make edits. It will be very tedious for the average user to convert all documents to the special Google Doc format to get these basic flows to work properly.”

Aaron Levie, CEO and founder of Box, a Google partner because Box uses Google Docs as part of its service, had to choose his words carefully because GDrive is now a direct competitor to Box.

“It’s an insanely exciting time in the cloud storage and collaboration space, and Google’s entry underscores the importance of this multi-billion dollar category,” Levie said via email. “At Box, we’re focused solely on the enterprise (whereas GDrive is aimed mostly at consumers), supporting over 120,000 businesses, and 82 percent of the Fortune 500, who desire security, scalability, and cross-platform support. Google will continue to be an important partner for us across Android, Chrome, and its Apps suite, as we build the best platform for managing enterprise information.”

Another Security Worry for Enterprises?

John Landy, IntraLinks’ Chief Technology Officer, told eWEEK that he sees GDrive as simply another hurdle CIOs and IT managers will face as they try to maintain a secure network and manage file sharing in the cloud

“Google’s Gdrive is about to give CIOs and IT decision makers another hurdle to overcome in their attempt to secure data in the enterprise,” Landy said. “The launch of Gdrive provides employees another file sharing option in addition to DropBox and Box to use both at home and in the workplace. However, the popularity and convenience of Google makes Gdrive a much more serious threat.

“According to a recent survey we took, 68 percent of organizations and employees globally still use email as their main method to send and exchange large files and sensitive data, creating holes for data leaks and information theft. While Dropbox and Box have been popular, yet insecure, enterprise file sharing options, Google is likely to create another surge through its large Gmail user base.”

Rest assured, there’s plenty more to come on this subject.

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