Enterprise Mobility & Connected Devices Blog

Google to Compete with Dropbox

Google revamped Insync - its version of Dropbox - and made it available for public by removing registration limits. Insync has now moved past beyond beta stage and is available with its sync and file sharing capabilities. With this move, Google has become a clear competitor to Dropbox, SugerSync and Box; allowing Insync users to automatically sync, update, manage and share their files. While the main and most obvious target group appears to be the Google Docs users, Insync can also access files that are stored in your PC or Mac.

Despite the growing user base of Google Apps, Insync is targeting small businesses as well as many individuals that are not currently using a file sharing service and/or the ones that are using competing products; along with its pricing and "8x cheaper than Dropbox" marketing campaign. Dropbox is charging $120/year for 50 GB storage, while Insync is priced at $20/year for 80 GB; making it a viable alternative in today's cost conscious business world.  Even though many companies remain to be skeptical on file sharing platforms and Google Docs as a result of the security and privacy concerns, both Open Office and Google Docs; along with Dropbox and its competitors are expanding their user base. 

These products boost collaboration in today's increasingly mobile world with their easy access and permission levels (i.e. read and write or read-only). While it is too early to tell the performance, accessibility and security of Insync in comparison to other publicly available applications, the product is lacking mobile support as well as a dedicated mobile app. Considering Google's commitment to the mobile industry; mobile Insync app or the added Insync functionality to the company's current mobile apps would land on the app stores shortly. If the company is able to achieve the seamless integration with its Google Docs apps and provides support for any mobile device, Insync and Google Docs could be a very powerful productivity suite.