Google is shutting down Drive, launches Drive File Stream as a replacement

Google has announced its new desktop application for Google Drive users called Drive Stream for Gsuite customers. This will replace Google Drive as the company announced that it is completely shutting down Google Drive in March 2018. Drive Stream is quite different from Backup and Sync as it does not save the data locally. It streams the data on-demand- including My Drive and Team Drives.

Google said in a statement “As of today, Drive File Stream will be turned ON for all customers, but we’ll only show download links in the Drive interface if you currently show them for Backup and Sync/Google Drive for Mac/PC. For more information on how to turn Drive File Stream on or off in your domain, check out the Help Center."

"With this launch, Google Drive for Mac/PC is officially deprecated. It will no longer be supported starting on December 11th, 2017, and it will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018. We encourage you to use Drive File Stream. As an alternative to or in addition to installing Drive File Stream, you can upgrade to the new version of Drive for Mac/PC, called Backup and Sync.”

You can install Backup and Sync as an alternative or addition to the Drive Stream app. You can also use Drive Stream to sync your folders with the Drive. Drive File Stream is available for early adoption since March and is now extending to regular GSuite customers.

To understand what the new application offers, here is a comparison chart that discusses what it does and doesn't.