Google
Drive
What I like most about
Google Drive is that you can drag and drop files into the Drive Web site and
they'll be uploaded automatically. You can also preview attachments from Gmail
in Google Drive, and save those files to your cloud.
Where it excels
·
Google Drive requires
very little setup if you already have a Google account.
·
If you use Gmail, it's
easy to save attachments from your e-mail directly to Drive with just a few
clicks. You can attach files directly from the drive to Gmail.
·
The app can
automatically back up your photos on its own, without the need for the separate
Google Photos app.
Where it falls flat
·
If you use Google
Drive's tools to create documents, spreadsheets or presentations, you must
export those files to edit them in another program.
·
You have to share your
storage space with Gmail, so if you're inbox is overflowing, you'll get less
cloud storage space.
Best
for: Google diehards, or
anyone who wants a few office tools with their cloud storage.
MS
One Drive
Where it excels
·
Works seamlessly with
Windows devices because it's built in to the Windows operating system.
·
It's easy to open and
edit files from One Drive in Microsoft's other applications, such as Word or
Excel.
·
Signing up for One Drive
gets you a Microsoft account, which gives you access to Outlook, Xbox Live, and
other Microsoft services.
Where it falls flat
·
OneDrive's automatic
file organization doesn't always put files in the correct folders.
Best
for: If you have a Windows
PC, tablet and phone, and need to get to your files from any device with little
effort.
BWSC Conclusion: You can use both depending on what files you put there and how you want to share them.
Verdict
Google and Microsoft offer reliable, fast, easy to use storage
clouds with clients that run on a number of different operating systems. Google
Drive and Microsoft OneDrive both raise the bar for cloud storage but we feel
Microsoft offers the best deal with its OneDrive service. Microsoft's OneDrive
comes with more free storage space, offers the same feature set as Google and
costs significantly less if you want to go beyond the 15GB capacity. While both
Google and Microsoft offer document creation and editing facilities,
Microsoft's Web Apps brings the familiarity of Office's user interface. Users
that have grown up on Word, Excel and Powerpoint will feel right at home and firms
may find this could reduce time spent on training and support. Winner -
Microsoft OneDrive
Compatibility
Away from Windows,
Microsoft's OneDrive is supported on Mac OS X, iOS, Android and Windows Phone or available through the web
browser.
Google Drive can be
accessed via Android, iOS, Windows and Mac OS X.
Extra functionality
Although Google and
Microsoft have opted for minimal desktop clients, when using both services
through a web browser the firms have gone to great lengths to offer document
editing applications. Google Docs is part of all Google accounts while
Microsoft makes its Office Web Apps available to OneDrive users.
Microsoft's
decision to incorporate parts of its Office user interface will mean users
should feel right at home.
Neither Google Docs
nor Microsoft's Office Web Apps match the features found on Microsoft's Office
suite, but they do have enough features to create simple documents,
spreadsheets and presentations.Microsoft's decision to incorporate parts of its
Office user interface will mean users should feel right at home.
In our view neither Google Docs nor Microsoft's Office Web Apps
should be a deal breaker when it comes to deciding between Google Drive or
Microsoft OneDrive. Both are competent programs which allow users to do light
work on documents without the need to have fully fledged office suites installed.
