Google Drive For Business Review: Convenient Cloud Storage With A Few Security Concerns

Google Drive’s business and consumer interfaces are nearly identical, aside from the business ticker that displays the expanded storage. This applies to the entire Google Workplace suite; it lacks fancy badges or distinguishing icons to signal that you’ve upgraded. Although the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra is applicable and welcome, it would be nice to see your dollars on-screen in a more business-specific interface. Microsoft OneDrive for Business went in that direction, with a folder color system that lets you differentiate folders at a glance (and enjoy some visual pizzazz).

Google Drive has an extremely user-friendly interface, with a navigation column on the left-hand side of the screen that houses the major actions. Like me, you’ll likely spend most of your time in the My Drive tab, easily dragging files into folders or changing the layout from a list to a grid. You can upload files to the browser-based Google Drive by using the traditional Windows file tree or dragging files (or entire folders) from your desktop to My Drive. It worked flawlessly during the test period, when I synced documents and photos across devices. Sharing files was just as simple, letting me collaborate with others easily.

(Credit: Google/PCMag)

The web interface is nearly identical to Dropbox Business and Microsoft OneDrive for Business, but it lags behind Egnyte. For example, Egnyte has a Task and Workflow tab, which is useful for files that are part of projects with multiple steps and teams. It ensures that the baton is passed from assignee to assignee as each workflow is completed. Egnyte also has a Potential Malware tab, another example of the company’s commitment to security and safety regarding your files and data. Finally, Egnyte has a more robust help tab, Egnyte University, designed to train users and teams on the software.

You can also sync files from your Mac or PC to Google Drive by downloading the desktop application for either platform. Note that the desktop applications do not have the same interface as the browser-based Google Drive, as they integrate into your computer’s folder structure. Synced files and folders update across desktop, web, and mobile as you make changes; it’s a helpful tool that unified my workflows.

In a nice touch, Google Drive offers two syncing options. Mirror Files stores documents in the cloud and on your computer, syncing just the changes across platforms. Stream Files is good for computers with low available storage, as it lets you edit cloud versions of your documents (the files don’t live on your computer’s drive). Dropbox Business has Streaming File Sync, a similar helpful feature.