Google introduces enterprise-ready tools for Drive

Google Drive, which now has 800 million daily active users, is set to receive several updates to enhance business and enterprise user experience.

At Google Cloud Next conference, Google announced a set of changes to Google Drive, its cloud-based file syncing and sharing service, which includes Team Drives, Google Vault for Drive, Drive File Stream, and new Quick Access features powered by the company’s machine intelligence tech.

“You’re probably familiar with Google Drive as essentially a personal file storage solution,” Google VP of Engineering Prabhakar Raghavan said in an interview. “We took a look at that and said that a graphical user interface on top of the Unix ‘ls’ command is not that much of a value-add. So we asked: What does it take to become a player in the enterprise really.”

Hence, Google introduced a new feature dubbed Drive File Stream that lets you access your files from Drive by streaming them from the cloud to avoid using up local disk space. “If you have a Windows or Mac laptop, you should not have to worry about how much onboard hard-drive space you have, did you sync the right thing to the right service, all of that should be managed behind the scenes for you,” Raghavan said.

Google is launching the feature in an early-adopter program (EAP) before making it available to everyone.

To make Drive a better service for teams, Google also introduced Team Drive, making it easy for an owner of the files to add new members, stay on top of files as members leave, and simplify sharing permissions and admin controls. Another feature is Quick Access to predict your usage and attempt to surface the files you need intelligently, displaying them in an easy to access section at the top of your Drive. You can set up team drive for your organisation here.

The new Google Vault offers tools to support the archiving and data retention needs of large enterprises, especially in regulated industries, making it easier for administrators to manage and export Google Drive data.

"The new Google Vault for Drive capabilities give admins the governance controls they need to manage and secure all their files, both in employee Drives as well as in Team Drives. These new features let admins set retention policies that automatically keep what they need and get rid of what they don’t. For example, you might need to place a legal hold on files that are critical to a certain legal case," the company said.

The tech giant also revealed the acquisition of AppBridge, a company that provides software for migrating data into the cloud.