Top 10 Reasons to Use Google Drive
It’s happened to the best of us. You’re working on a vital project, giving it your full focus and attention, until suddenly, disaster strikes. Maybe your file goes missing or you can’t find the USB drive anymore. Whatever the reason, you’ve lost all your hard work overnight.
If you could prevent this risk automatically, wouldn’t you?
Enter a service like Google Drive. Working on Google Drive gives your business access to cloud-based storage and organization that keeps your files handy, shareable, and recoverable.
But you already knew that. Why else should you use Google Drive? We can think of ten good reasons:
Reason #1: Backing Up Should Be Easy
Yes, it’s possible for you to back up your documents without using Google Drive or even cloud-based computing at all.
But the name of the game here is convenience.
If you miss just one session of backing up your files, you’ve exposed yourself to risk. But saving to Google Drive ensures that every time your file is so much as autosaved, it’s ready for you in a pinch.
Reason #2: Cost
Cost is one way of saying it. The complete and utter lack of cost is another. Google Drive’s free edition gives you some 15 GB of storage space, which means you can safely store large files, particularly office work, to your heart’s content. It’s true that this means that Google Drive isn’t ideal for storing larger files, such as videos, but generally speaking, those are better to keep on your own secure hard drives or even external hard drives.
Reason #3: Search
Imagine taking Google’s powerful search engine and pointing it at your own files. That’s what happens when you use Google Drive. The search engine is so sophisticated, in fact, that it can even identify objects in your pictures—which means it will be easier to dig up that visit to the Eiffel Tower, even if your files are all named “fds8a9f0000.jpg.”
Reason #4: Collaboration
Collaboration is the name of the game in today’s economy—but it doesn’t mean you have to stand over a co-worker’s desk to get everything done. Online document sharing makes it possible to work, edit, and comment on each individual file, accomplishing what used to take days and even weeks in a matter of hours. This easy collaboration is a hallmark of 21st century work and easily accessible across multiple file formats, such as Word documents.
Reason #5: Variety
Google Drive isn’t a one-trick pony when it comes to file storage. You can save multiple file types, so long as you meet the limits of your individual Google Drive account’s storage capacity.
Why is this so important? It’s crucial to have a single bookmark in your browser—or a single folder on your computer—that can take you to all of the relevant files you use for work. This will keep things organized—and help keep you sane.
Reason #6: Easy Sharing
Want to share those family photos from your latest vacation? Want to share a document and aren’t sure how to properly send it to someone? Google Drive makes sharing as easy as it does collaboration.
This is especially relevant for those with hectic travel schedules. If you’re on the road, it’s easier to log into an account to share files rather than worry about where your physical storage might be—and if it might be lost.
Reason #7: Customizable Collaboration
Notice a theme here? Google Drive is big on easy collaboration and sharing, which is good for you because it means that you’ll have every option in the book for managing your files. You can choose who can view it, who can comment on it, who can edit it—or give a broad range of people different permissions on the same file. Google Drive also does a great job of making your files easy to access and share via project management software or email.
Reason #8: Mobile-Friendliness
These days, it seems like just about everything is “mobile-friendly.” But some apps are a little friendlier than others. Google Drive is particularly adept at giving you the access you need to your files you need on a mobile phone, while the experience of viewing and editing is surprisingly easy. This is another great benefit for frequent fliers and business travelers who spend much of their business time on their phone, not their desktop.
Reason #9: Security
With your files this open, the process of sharing has to be unsecure, right? You’d be surprised. Drive is encrypted with SSL, which gives you the same security you’d expect from other online activity like email. While this is not a 100% guarantee that your data will always remain protected, it’s an extra layer of security that will keep your data handy.
Reason #10: Working Offline
We know what you’re thinking. “This all sounds great. But what if I’m not connected to the Internet”?
You’d be surprised. You can make files available offline, which allows you to work on them even when you have no Wi-Fi on the road. You don’t even have to be connected to the Internet during a power outage if you prepare properly, which means you’ll have the same convenience of file use as if you were storing your files locally.
Why You Should Consider Google Drive
With low risk, no cost, and lots of potential rewards, there’s no reason you can’t employ Google Drive to its full potential in your business. We recommend you give it a shot and see how much easier your life can be when you don’t have to worry about the safety of your files.