Google Drive update will eliminate a frustrating file sharing problem

Share files with non-Google account holders in Google Drive

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Googlehas announced an update forcloud storageserviceDrivethat will make collaborating across businesses easier for all involved.

As described in a newblog post, Google Drive’s existing visitor sharing feature will now extend beyond the ability to give people without a Google account access to files.

As well as being able to view, comment on and editDocs,SheetsandSlides, non-Google users will now be able to upload content to shared folders managed byGoogle Workspacecustomers too.

Google Drive compatibility

Although there are a few peripheral players, the productivity and office software market is pretty much dominated by two suites:Microsoft 365and Google Workspace. According to data collected recently on behalf ofTechRadar Pro,the former is the chosen option for 58.2% of US businesses, while 15% opt for Google’s suite instead.

However, while healthy competition will benefit customers in the long term, problems can arise when businesses are required to collaborate with organizations that do not subscribe to the same software bundle.

To address this issue, bothMicrosoftand Google have made accommodations to limit the amount of friction customers face - and to make it easier to migrate between suites if businesses choose to change provider.

For example,Microsoft Worddocuments can be ported into Google Docs, and Google Slides can be downloaded in a format compatible withPowerPoint. Equally, the launch of visitor sharing for Google Drive eliminated a few barriers associated withsharing filesacross organizations.

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However, the latest update takes the feature a step further, making it possible for external collaborators to upload files and create content within Google Drive, on top of the ability to access pre-existing documents.

The main caveat is that the new Google Drive functionality will not be available to all users. Although most paying customers will have access, the feature won’t be extended to those on Business Starter and Enterprise essentials plans, nor legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Neither will the ability for non-Google users to contribute to shared Drive folders be available to personal accounts holders, whether they pay for a subscription or otherwise.

Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He’s responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.

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