Amazon WorkDocs vs Google Drive

2022. Google is adding new Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep optimizations for tablets



Google introduced Android 12L earlier this year to make tablets easier to use, and at I/O, the company announced plans to update more than 20 Google apps on tablets to optimize them for larger screens. Today, Google said it’s adding several new features for Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep to get started on this promise. The most notable feature announced today is the ability to drag text or images between two Workspace apps when you have them open side-by-side. Google notes that you can now drag text or images from apps, such as Chrome or Sheets, and drop that content right into an existing document or spreadsheet cell. In Google Drive, you’ll be able to quickly upload files by dragging and dropping them into the app. You can also add links to Drive files by dragging the file into an open app like Keep.


2018. Google Drive added comments to Microsoft Office files



Google Drive makes it easier for teams and agencies to use a mix of G Suite and Microsoft Office while working with their colleagues and customers. From now Google Drive users can easily comment on Office files, PDFs and images in the Drive preview pane without having to use (and potentially pay for) tools like Microsoft Office or Acrobat Reader — or having to convert them to Google Docs, Sheets or Slides files. That’s not quite the real-time commenting feature you get from G Suite or Office 365, but it’s still better than having to constantly convert documents back and forth between Office and G Suite.


2017. Google launches Drive File Stream to replace the Google Drive desktop app for G Suite users



Google launched a new desktop application for Google Drive users, called Drive File Stream, which is now available to G Suite customers. The app will serve as a replacement for the Google Drive desktop app that will be shut down next year. A key difference between the consumer application and the enterprise version is the option for administrative control. Company I.T. departments starting today will see the settings for Drive File Stream appear in the Admin Console for their version of G Suite, says Google. This will allow them to configure and distribute the solution for their domain, including turning sync on, specifying how the software is installed, disabling Google Update if the company prefers manual updates, and managing other settings.


2017. Google Drive gets a new Backup & Sync desktop app



Google launched its new Backup and Sync app for both Mac and PC, which aims to help users more easily back up the files and photos on their computer. The utility is meant to replace the older Google Photos desktop app, as well as the Google Drive client applications. The new tool offers a simple user interface, where you’ll first sign into your Google account, then select the folders you want Google to continually back up to Google Drive. In addition to backing up files on your desktop computer, the new software also can be used to back up photos from USB-connected devices, like cameras, as well as SD cards. For business users Google is planning to release a new enterprise-focused solution called Drive File Stream, which will roll out to all G Suite users later this year.


2017. Google updated Drive with a focus on its business users



Google introduced several updates to its online file storage service Google Drive, which all aim to make it more useful for the company’s business and enterprise users. To better support the enterprise, though, Google is mostly focusing on making Drive a better service for teams. That means Team Drives, Google’s solution for enterprise file sharing that launched in preview last year, is now generally available, for example. During the preview, which lasted about six months, the team identified a number of issues, especially around permissions, that it needed to fix ahead of a general launch, and it’s now ready to open the project up to all businesses. Also generally available now is Google Vault for Drive, which offers tools to support the archiving and data retention needs of large enterprises, especially in regulated industries.


2016. Google Drive gets intelligent search



Google Drive is getting a new search that understands natural language and can autocorrect your search query by suggesting corrections to misspelled search terms. For example, you can search your documents by saying things like “find my budget spreadsheet from last December” or “show me presentations from Anissa”. The feature will improve over time, too, so the results will become more accurate with more frequent use. The new feature probably means that soon Google also will add voice interface to Google Drive.


2015. Amazon released mobile app for Cloud Drive



Amazon has released a dedicated mobile app that allows users to access documents saved in its Cloud Drive service. The move comes as the cloud storage market becomes increasingly crowded, dominated by players such as Google and Dropbox. The app is now available for iOS, Android and Kindle devices and lets users view all documents stored in their Amazon Cloud account and can be accessed anywhere you're logged in. It also works as a companion to the existing desktop cloud client. So now you can look at everything via the app as you would on a desktop's file browser with the Dropbox app.


2015. Amazon Cloud Drive adds unlimited storage plan



Amazon Cloud Drive is expanding that service as a paid offering to cover all kinds of content, and to users outside of its loyalty program. Unlimited Cloud Storage will let users get either unlimited photo storage or “unlimited everything” — covering all kinds of media from videos and music through to PDF documents — respectively for $11.99 or $59.99 per year. The move is a clear attempt by Amazon to compete against the likes of Dropbox, Google, Microsoft and the many more in the crowded market for cloud-based storage services. It’s not the first to offer “unlimited” storage, but it looks like it’s the first to market this as a service to anyone who wants it.


2014. Amazon adds new syncing feature to enterprise cloud storage Zocalo



Amazon’s Zocalo work-collaboration tool that competes with services like Dropbox and Box gets the new feature that allows to sync files to your computer or mobile device through a shared folder. Users can set up per-project folders and share them with members of the project team on an as-needed basis. After setting up a shared folder, team members can then access those documents and each time they edit and save the file, Zocalo records those changes. The new syncing feature is optional for users and, if you want it, you’ll have to activate it in the preferences section of your Zocalo client.


2014. Google Drive adds OpenDocument support, sending files as attachments



Google is rolling out a series of updates for its cloud-based storage service Google Drive. Gmail users will now be able to share Drive documents as attachments that are sent as part of email files. That’s useful in case the person receiving the document doesn’t have permission to view the file in Google Drive or if you delete the file from Drive at a later time. Google also added support for importing all three major ODF (Open) file formats: .odt files for documents, .ods for spreadsheets, and .odp for presentations. That change will make it easier for users to work with files from other open source productivity suites such as LibreOffice. On Android, Drive users will also be able to search for files using voice commands within the Google search app. A user could say, “OK, Google — search for holiday letter on Drive,” for instance.