Google Drive

Google Drive Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Integrations

  One of Google Drive’s features that helps streamline information and communication is its ability to integrate with many other applications. These integrations include Hubspot, PicMonkey, Discord, Dropbox and more. Connecting and synching your various accounts to your drive can help you work more efficiently and have access to all of your data in one spot. Integrating your accounts can also help save time when working on multiple platforms.
• Collaboration Tools

  Google Drive makes file sharing easy. Users can choose to share documents with specific individuals or large teams. Privacy settings can also be adjusted on shared files. You can also comment and edit shared documents through the app and view these files without needing to download them to your local hard drive.
• Accessibility

  Google Drive is an application that can be used and downloaded on all computers including Mac OS and Windows systems, iPhone’s, as well as tablets. Being able to access your drive on all devices means you can view and work on files wherever you are. Having everything stored in one place is both efficient and time-saving.
• Free

  One of the most appealing features of the cloud sharing app is that it’s free. The application provides users with 15 GB of data storage for free, but if users go over that amount they do need to pay for extra space. 15 GB of data is a large amount of storage for most individuals, especially if they mainly work with word documents and spread sheets.
• Offline Use

  Although Google Drive is an application that is mainly accessed using the internet, you can still access your files offline using the downloadable application. Although certain features can’t be accessed like sharing and commenting, users can still view all of their files.

Cons:

• File Navigation

  When using Google Drive, users may find that searching for a file using the search bar may be difficult or cumbersome, especially when searching for a file between personal and shared folders. This drawback is important for those who do not tend to organize their work into searchable and easy to find folders.
• Gmail

  Although it is not required, Google Drive tends to work better when an individual is using a Gmail email address to share and view files. Other email addresses can also be connected to the app but are unable to access all Google apps connected to the drive.
• File Sizes

  The file size limit for most documents is fairly high and doesn’t tend to be an issue for users, except when they try to upload large files like videos or long presentations. When doing so, people have experienced long upload times or are unable to upload the files due to their size.
• Team Use

  Although collaborating with Google Drive is easy and efficient it can become somewhat strenuous when many team members are either inexperienced using the app or do not know how to access shared files with their email. Large teams with members who use different email platforms and sharing devices may have a hard time adjusting or streamlining their use of the tool.
• Password Protection

  Shared files on Google Drive have a variety of privacy settings that you can choose from but one of those missing settings is the ability to password protect files. This can prove to be difficult for individuals who prefer to manage exactly who has access to their files through passwords.