Google Drive: More than Just Storage!

If you’re as crazy about Google Apps as we are, then you’ve been anxiously awaiting the launch of Google Drive. Though Drive is not yet fully operational for everyone (you can opt in to receive a notification when Drive will be accessible), the product’s site is up and running, giving potential users a sneak peak at Drive’s vast offerings.

At first glance, Google Drive may seem like the latest addition to the growing field of online storage systems and of course, storage is part of it, but where Google Drive really shines is in the product’s built-in collaboration features via Google Docs and integrations with several third-party applications.

Integration with web services like Lucidchart and Smartsheet that effectively have their own file types brilliantly showcase what integrations with Drive will bring to the table. While LucidChart and Smartsheet are super useful, it’s always been a little annoying to manage a document collection in Google Docs, a separate one in Lucidchart, and yet another in Smartsheet. With Google Drive, users can organize documents and files from all of their web services (at least the ones that are smart enough to integrate with Google Drive, there are reportedly around 20 launch partners). Google’s essentially creating a Windows Explorer for SaaS application files. It’s a powerful concept.

Google may be a little late to the game, but playing off of their existing user base (as was done with Google+) will give Google a leg up on the competition. Plus giving users more storage for less money sure is enticing. Gmail and Google Apps users receive 5 GB of storage for free and Google Apps for Business admins can add storage space on a per user basis from the Control Panel (an additional 20 GB per user costs $4.00/month). And like before, Google Docs won’t count towards consumption.

How does your organization plan to use Google Drive?