Google is reportedly on the verge of launching a cloud storage service which is expected to directly compete with Dropbox. The service named Google Drive will allow people to store their documents, videos and photos on Google’s servers, which will enable access from any device that can connect to the internet. This will enable easy file sharing between peers by simply uploading data and sharing links to the data instead of the files themselves.
This Google service is expected to be launched in the United States in a few months and will probably be free for both consumers and businesses. Like Dropbox, Google is expected to come up with tiered plans for those requiring more space. Google Drive is clearly an attempt by the company to draw level with Windows Skydrive and Dropbox, a segment in which the company has been curiously absent till now.
Recently, Google has been playing catch up in a number of areas. Google+ was the company’s attempt at competing against sites like Facebook and Twitter. Another attempt was Google Current, which is a mobile app that allows users to read articles. The release of this app was viewed as Google’s answer to Flipboard and other related apps. Google has also come out with Zagat in order to compete against the business review website Yelp. Hence, Drive is clearly not a step in a new direction for the company. How well these services will do with customers, however, is an entirely different story. Google often shuts down non performing services on a regular basis, like it did a few weeks ago.
Google has reportedly always had plans to create a cloud service. A project known as ‘G Drive’ was started within the company a few years ago, whose launch was expected in late 2007 but never happened. Dropbox, which was founded by two MIT graduates back in 2007, has taken over most of the cloud storage market in the meantime. Even with more than 45 million members and an estimated valuation of $4 billion, Dropbox will have to innovate if it wants to remain the market leader.
Google Drive will also compete against Apple’s iCloud service which allows iOS users to sync data with Apple mobile devices. Drive is expected to add to Google’s array of online services and bring it in direct competition with Box.net, a website that sells cloud storage to businesses. Google hopes to challenge both Dropbox and Box.net by charging much lesser by taking advantage of its bigger size and economies of scale.
