TL;DR
Are you a Google Workspace house?
Consolidate Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive to save costs.
- Use My Drive for personal work — risky for shared files if accounts are deleted.
- Use Shared Drives for centralised, collaborative storage.
- Cancel extra subscriptions; share seamlessly with non-Google users (including Microsoft accounts).
- Automate access with Google Groups and the “Everyone” group.
Using Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive all in the same organisation?
You probably don’t need to.
We've seen clients use all three — some out of preference, others due to perceived limitations. You can save hundreds, if not thousands, by consolidating everything into one solution.
Let's get straight to the point.
Users are given two options within Google Drive: My Drive and Shared Drives
(Shared Drives require the Google Business Standard SKU or above).
My Drive
Simply put, My Drive is your workspace.
It’s ideal for individual projects, work, and documents you don’t plan to collaborate on.
Occasionally, you might share something from My Drive — that’s fine.
But remember: if your account is deleted by a Google Workspace Admin (often for cost-saving or data protection), all files in My Drive — including shared ones — will be deleted too.
Admins can transfer data to another user, but it’s often cumbersome.
The recipient may have to reorganise everything, which becomes nearly impossible in larger organisations where random untitled files can proliferate.
Shared Drives – The Collaborative Option
Shared Drives are the proper way to collaborate.
Think of them as a central storage system, like a modern NAS drive.
How to use them:
- Go to Shared Drives.
- Right-click anywhere and select Create Shared Drive.
- Name it (e.g. Legal, Finance).
- Open the drive and click Manage Members.
- Add team members’ emails and assign access levels (Viewer, Editor, etc.*).
- Start adding files and collaborating.
Every file in a Shared Drive is centralised and shareable.
You can manage access seamlessly with Google Groups, which bundle multiple addresses into one for simplified sharing.
Organisations can even create an optional “Everyone” group to automate access across the company.
Why Use Shared Drives?
- Centralisation: Files stay in the drive even if employees leave.
- Cost-saving: Cancel unnecessary subscriptions like Dropbox or OneDrive.
- Cross-platform sharing: Collaborate directly with Microsoft OneDrive or other non-Google users.
How to Share with Non-Google Users
You can easily collaborate with non-Google users:
- Share files or folders as usual.
→ Visit Google's Support Guide for details. - If collaborators don’t have Gmail, they can still access Google Drive by creating a Google Account using their existing email (e.g. Outlook, Yahoo).
→ Direct them to Google's Account Sign-Up Without Gmail.
This links their current email to a Google account, giving them Drive access — without Gmail or other extras.
Think of it as signing up for Dropbox, but within Google’s ecosystem.
What’s Possible with Shared Drives?
- Share video files, transfer documents, and collaborate easily — no need for Dropbox or Box.
- Shared Drives integrate smoothly with your workflow.
- Save money by cutting redundant platforms.
Considerations
Some third-party companies have restrictive networks that block Google Services.
In those cases, joining the other party’s system may be the better option.
