Google refines Drive for large businesses
Google today unveiled a suite of new tools designed to help big businesses communicate and coordinate in Drive. The first improvement is Drive File Stream, which allows users to access their entire Drive without going through the file-syncing process. It essentially creates an “intelligent cache” of all the data, Google Cloud VP of apps Prabhakar Raghavan tells VentureBeat.
“This means that all of your company data can be accessed directly from your laptop, even if you don’t have much space left on your hard drive,” Google explains. File Stream is live via the Early Adopter Program right now.
Additionally, Google has moved Team Drives out of beta testing, allowing participating businesses everywhere to manage a large number of files, easily add and remove new team members, and keep information secure. Today, Team Drives are available to all G Suite Business, Education, and Enterprise customers.
Meanwhile, Google’s machine-intelligence-powered Quick Access system is getting its start on iOS and Android today. Quick Access puts the files you’re most likely to need front-and-center in your Team Drive, using the same tech behind Gmail’s Smart Reply function. It should come to desktops “soon.”
Google has also beefed up the admin tools in its Vault for Drive service. Admins are able to manage and secure all of the files in individual employee Drives and in Team Drives.
“These new features let admins set retention policies that automatically keep what they need and get rid of what they don’t,” Google says. “For example, you might need to place a legal hold on files that are critical to a certain legal case.”
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