Confluence vs Google Drive

August 26, 2023 | Author: Adam Levine
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Confluence
Confluence provides one place for technical teams to collaborate—create, share, and discuss your ideas, files, minutes, specs, mockups, diagrams, and projects. A rich editor, deep Office and JIRA integration, and powerful plugins help teams collaboratively develop technical docs, intranets, and knowledge bases.
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Google Drive
Online file storage and syncing service working as a file system for other Google's services. Allows to sync files between all your computers and mobile devices or collaborate on files with your team and partners. Version control, OCR, powerful online viewer. Provides 5 GB free disk space.
Confluence and Google Drive are both popular collaboration and document management tools, but they have distinct differences in terms of their features and focus. Confluence, developed by Atlassian, is a team collaboration platform that focuses on creating and organizing content in a structured manner. It offers features such as wikis, knowledge bases, project documentation, and team collaboration spaces. Confluence is known for its rich formatting options, hierarchical organization, and powerful search capabilities. On the other hand, Google Drive is a cloud storage and file-sharing service that emphasizes easy file management and real-time collaboration. It provides features such as file storage, document editing, and sharing permissions. Google Drive integrates seamlessly with other Google Workspace applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, allowing teams to collaborate on documents in real-time.

See also: Top 10 Wiki software
Confluence vs Google Drive in our news:

2023. Atlassian brings an AI assistant to Jira and Confluence



Atlassian has introduced Atlassian Intelligence, an AI-powered 'virtual teammate' that utilizes the company's proprietary models and OpenAI's large language models to create customized teamwork graphs. This technology enables various functionalities, such as AI-generated summaries in Confluence and test plans in Jira Software, as well as the rewriting of responses to customers in Jira Service Management. Atlassian Intelligence provides users with a chatbox similar to Chat-GPT, which is deeply integrated into different products and allows for the referencing of specific documents. For instance, to generate a summary of action items from a recent meeting, users can link the document with the transcript and request the summary inside Confluence. The tool then generates a list of decisions and action items from the meeting.


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



Google unveiled Android 12L earlier this year, aiming to enhance the usability of tablets. During the I/O conference, the company revealed its intention to optimize over 20 Google apps for larger screens. Today, Google has introduced several new features for Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep, taking a step towards fulfilling this commitment. The most noteworthy feature announced is the ability to effortlessly drag text or images between two Workspace apps that are open side-by-side. Google highlights that users can now drag content from apps like Chrome or Sheets and drop it directly into an existing document or spreadsheet cell. Additionally, in Google Drive, files can be swiftly uploaded by dragging and dropping them into the app. Furthermore, links to Drive files can be easily added by dragging the file into an open app like Keep.


2021. Atlassian peps up Confluence with new graphical design features



Confluence, the collaborative workspace developed by Atlassian, has been a staple knowledge-sharing tool for over 15 years, widely adopted by companies for its versatility. In its latest update, Confluence introduces several new features to enhance user experience. Users can now customize their spaces with cover images, title emojis, and personalized avatars that represent different sections of Confluence. The addition of smart links allows for seamless integration with platforms like YouTube and Trello, automatically recognizing and displaying links in their native formats. Furthermore, users can schedule the publication of new pages and convert pages into blog posts, reflecting the increasing popularity of corporate blogging within organizations, particularly for internal audiences during the pandemic.


2020. Atlassian’s Confluence gets a new template gallery



Confluence, the content-centric collaboration tool by Atlassian, is simplifying the onboarding process for new users through the introduction of an enhanced template gallery, featuring 75 additional templates. This update signifies the evolution of Confluence from a specialized wiki primarily used by technical documentation teams to a widely adopted tool utilized across various organizations. The revamped template gallery offers improved search tools, filters, and previews conveniently located in the right-hand panel of your Confluence site. These enhancements facilitate the seamless discovery of templates that are most relevant to your business needs.


2018. Google Drive added comments to Microsoft Office files



Google Drive has introduced a convenient solution for teams and agencies seeking to collaborate seamlessly using a combination of G Suite and Microsoft Office. Now, Google Drive users can easily add comments to Office files, PDFs, and images directly within the Drive preview pane. This eliminates the need to rely on external tools like Microsoft Office or Acrobat Reader, as well as the hassle of converting files to Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides formats. While it may not provide real-time commenting like G Suite or Office 365, this feature offers a significant improvement by eliminating the constant need to convert documents between Office and G Suite.


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



Google has introduced a new desktop application, called Drive File Stream, for Google Drive users who are subscribed to G Suite. This application will replace the existing Google Drive desktop app, which is scheduled to be discontinued next year. One notable distinction between the consumer and enterprise versions is the inclusion of administrative control features. Starting today, company IT departments will find the Drive File Stream settings within the Admin Console for their G Suite edition. This enables them to customize and deploy the solution within their domain, including options to enable synchronization, define installation preferences, disable automatic updates through Google Update, and manage other relevant configurations.


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



Google has unveiled its latest application, Backup and Sync, designed to facilitate the effortless backup of files and photos on both Mac and PC platforms. This utility serves as a replacement for the older Google Photos desktop app and the client applications of Google Drive. The newly introduced tool offers a user-friendly interface, where users can sign in to their Google account and select the folders they wish to continuously back up to Google Drive. Apart from backing up files stored on desktop computers, this software also allows users to back up photos from USB-connected devices like cameras and SD cards. As for business users, Google has plans to launch a dedicated enterprise solution called Drive File Stream, which will be made available to all G Suite users later this year.


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



Google has implemented several updates to enhance its online file storage service, Google Drive, with a focus on improving its functionality for business and enterprise users. The primary emphasis is on providing a better service for teams within these organizations. As part of this effort, Google has made Team Drives available to all users after a preview phase that lasted approximately six months. Throughout the preview period, the team identified and addressed various issues, particularly related to permissions, to ensure a smooth general launch. Now, businesses of all sizes can leverage Team Drives for efficient file sharing within their enterprise. Another noteworthy addition is the general availability of Google Vault for Drive, which equips large enterprises, particularly those operating in regulated industries, with the necessary tools for archiving and data retention. This feature caters to the specific needs of these businesses, offering enhanced control and compliance capabilities. By prioritizing the requirements of business and enterprise users, Google Drive continues to evolve as a comprehensive and reliable file storage solution for organizations of all sizes.


2016. Google Drive gets intelligent search



Google Drive is introducing an enhanced search capability that incorporates natural language processing and offers autocorrection suggestions for misspelled search terms. This means that when searching for documents, you can use phrases like "find my budget spreadsheet from last December" or "show me presentations from Anissa." As this feature is utilized more frequently, the search results will become increasingly precise. This development likely indicates that Google will soon integrate a voice interface into Google Drive as well.


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



Google is introducing a series of updates for its cloud-based storage service, Google Drive. One notable enhancement is that Gmail users can now share Drive documents as attachments within email files. This feature proves beneficial when the recipient lacks permission to access the file on Google Drive or if you plan to delete the file from Drive in the future. Furthermore, Google has added support for importing the three major ODF (Open) file formats: .odt for documents, .ods for spreadsheets, and .odp for presentations. This addition simplifies the process of working with files from other open-source productivity suites like LibreOffice. Additionally, Android users of Drive can utilize voice commands within the Google search app to search for files. For example, a user can say, "OK, Google — search for holiday letter on Drive," streamlining the file search process.

Author: Adam Levine
Adam is an expert in project management, collaboration and productivity technologies, team management, and motivation. With an extensive background working at prestigious companies such as Microsoft and Accenture, Adam's in-depth knowledge and experience in the field make him a sought-after professional. Currently, he has ventured into entrepreneurship, owning a thriving consulting and training agency where he imparts invaluable insights and practical strategies to individuals and organizations, empowering them to achieve their goals and maximize their potential. You can contact Adam via email adam@liventerprise.com