Google Drive for Work Delivers Profound Features

In a smart attempt to address company’s discovery and compliance requirements, as well as data retention and deletion, Google has enhanced their cloud storage and collaboration product. Google’s Drive for Work now features an even more profound integration with Googles Vault data management and e-discovery service that is meant to provide superior retention and deletion of company data.

This will allow administrators the ability to set a data retention policy that will enable data files to be saved for a defined period of time inside Google Vault. This comes just one day before Microsoft is scheduled to release the next version of their productivity suite Office 2016.

Full Availability Expected Later this Year

This new cloud storage option by Google will also allow companies to set policies to automatically delete their data files after a period of time. It also places other data on hold for future reference should companies need them for lawsuits and other potential situations that may arise where the deleted data would prove useful.

In addition, end users will not have to do anything different for them to be able to take full advantage of these capabilities. In fact, the end user experience will be virtually invisible so company workflow will not be affected.

Currently the new data retention capabilities are being made available to only a limited number of users, however, full availability is expected for later this year.

Added Assurance for Data Privacy

Google’s Drive for Work has recently been certified to comply with ISO 27018 standards, which oversee how companies are able to handle the privacy of the personal data that is stored in their cloud. This certification has been designed to assure users that Google will not be using company data for advertising, as well as provide added protection from third-party data requests.

The Drive for Work director of product management, Scott Johnston, added that this certification does in no way represent a policy change for Google, but more a means to assure businesses that Google Drive is a safe and private place to store data, as well as alleviate user fears that their data may be used to power Google’s advertising engine – A fear that Google assures will never be the case when it comes to Drive for Work.

Stiff Competition

The majority of Google’s competitors, including Dropbox for Business and Microsoft OneDrive, already have the same certification as Drive for Work, which may pose as an obstacle for Google as they are faced with trying to entice intensely loyal Dropbox and OneDrive users to switch to Drive for Work.

Google recently announced that it currently has over 1 million businesses that are both actively using and paying for its Drive service. This includes Uber Technologies and the New York Times, which could prove to be exactly the solid client base foundation that Google needs to gain a greater foothold among businesses who are, or would normally be using Microsoft productivity software.

Will you be using Googles Drive for Work for your business? Contact Bralin Technology Solutions at (306) 445-4881 or (306) 825-3881 or email at info@bralin.com for more details. We’d be happy to fill you in on the latest features available to you.