Companies leveraging cloud computing to offer remote storage options for businesses is not a particularly new idea, but now heavyweight search giant, Google, is entering the ring with its own take on the service, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Google Drive is the cloud storage product which the firm will allegedly be launching in the next few weeks, giving both business users and typical consumers the chance to place their files, documents and folders in one online space, which will then be accessible from any device with a web connection.
Rival platforms like Apple’s iCloud and storage service, Dropbox, are already established in this market, but with millions of users already signed up to a Google account, it should be easy for the company to integrate the service and instantly acquire a large number of subscribers.
Google’s typical approach to its products will presumably be taken here. A limited amount of cloud computing storage space will be made available free of charge, while anyone who wants a more flexible, expansive approach, will need to pay for the privilege.
Businesses which already equip users with smartphones and tablets based on Google’s Android operating system will be in a good position to take advantage of the Google Drive service. An application enabling remote access to files stored on the cloud will almost certainly follow and so working whilst on the move will be easier than ever.
Of course the other side of the coin is that business mobiles based on competing platforms like Apple’s iOS will already have their own cloud options, giving some firms little incentive to try out Google Drive in the short term.
Companies who rely on Google’s mail service will already have experienced the cloud-based benefits of Google Docs and so Drive will presumably be integrated in order to complement existing platforms, rather than replace or sit independent from them.
Small and medium sized businesses in particular have been able to harness Google Docs in order to access word processing software in a browser-based environment which does not rely on separate software like Microsoft Word.
Companies who want to experiment with Google Drive will be in a good position to do so when it launches later in the year, because the fact that the search giant will be unlikely to charge for the basic level of service will allow almost any business to see how cloud storage can be a benefit.
Of course there are some who are arguing already that Google Drive will not necessarily find a place for itself in an increasingly crowded cloud computing market. As an example, they point to Google+, the firm’s social networking service which was launched last year, to compete with Facebook and Twitter.
Although it has accrued 90 million members, Google+ still has just over a tenth of Facebook’s established user base and there is no way of telling how many of these are actively using their accounts on a regular basis.
There are also many alternative cloud computing platforms out there offering storage and remote access to businesses. There is a chance that Google’s offering might be too focused on the consumer market and could end up causing companies to turn to other cloud providers to get the level of service that they require in the working world.
Google is not lacking in experience or funding for Drive and of course the platform itself has yet to be officially confirmed as in development. Whatever the outcome, it will be an interesting initiative in the cloud computing sector.
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