Google Drive vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Drive
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Google Drive is a cloud file storage, synchronization, and collaboration platform and service, that features Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for document editing and presentation.
$6
per month
IBM Cloud Object Storage
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
IBM Cloud Object Storage is an IBM Cloud product in the endpoint backup and IaaS categories. It is commonly used for data archiving and backup, for web and mobile applications, and as scalable, persistent storage for analytics.
$5,000,000,000
per month
Pricing
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Editions & Modules
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
One-Rate Plan
As low as USD $12/TB a month
per month
Standard Plan
Free up to 5GB—no minimum fee, pay only for what you use
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.The One-Rate and Standard service plans for Cloud Object Storage include resiliency options, flexible data classes and built-in security. Pricing is based on the choice of location, storage class and resiliency choice.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Considered Both Products
Google Drive
Chose Google Drive
Dropbox is way too expensive for what it is and I have had sync issues with it before. Onedrive is pushed too hard by Microsoft and I don't like feeling like I'm "forced" to use a product and I've also had sync issues. SugarSync I used sometime back and I just didn't like the …
Chose Google Drive
Dropbox is better, and we also use that, but it costs money. Google Drive makes it easier to save files among JUST my sales team, so we adopted it as it was easier to share an Excel file and each edit it together by doing so. Google Drive was free to use as well.
Chose Google Drive
it really helps us stay organized
Chose Google Drive
I think the way in which Google Drive allows collaboration on documents in a live way is far better than the way in Microsoft products do it and I find it much easier to work in a Google Drive enviroment companred to Microsoft 365 so I would always choose it over this option
Chose Google Drive
Box is something we tested but google ease of use won us over
Chose Google Drive
I feel like Google is a lot more affordable and though it would be nice to buy these products to use, drive provides what I need to meet my KPIs.
Chose Google Drive
Google Drive is more accessible and doesn't require additional implementation, downloading, and synchronization. You need a Google account. It makes it the first-choice instrument when working with non-technically savvy team members or clients. There are no complicated …
Chose Google Drive
I had significantly used these drives as well in my professional career as compared to Google Drive: Dropbox offers excellent file synchronization but as compared to Google Drive it seriously lacks dives unmatched ability in document editing. As well as its integration with …
Chose Google Drive
Compared to Microsoft Sharepoint, the interface and learning curve for Google Drive are better mainly because the solution is much simpler and focuses on doing the basics well.
Chose Google Drive
In terms of price, accessibility and ease of use, Google Drive is way better compared to other platforms like WeShare and others.
Chose Google Drive
Google Drive is more feature rich, it has stronger search capabilities and it's simple and intuitive to use.
Chose Google Drive
The most indeed reason is the security provided by Google. Every other company can provide lots of cloud space but my sensitive data is the key so, secure system is my first priority.

As I am tech person i feel its very easy to use and lot of features that make it better than …
Chose Google Drive
One drive is a little bit better because you can save it as a Word document. I currently use the paid version which allows access to all the Microsoft Office features. I have used the unpaid version and this was an issue due to HIPPA compliance. Working with medical records …
Chose Google Drive
Feature-wise, Google Drive is at the bottom of its peers. However, due to its Google Mail user base, Google Drive has wide acceptance and penetration. Its ease-of-use feature is probably somewhere in the middle, lower than Dropbox but higher than OneDrive. It is free but so are …
Chose Google Drive
Apple Drive dosn't offer that much storage and doesn't provide vast features with collaborative tools like docs , spreadsheet and forms etc. Google drive also allows you to search for files and folders that contain certain words in their title or content in any perticular file. …
Chose Google Drive
Google Drive is much easier to use and does not require hassle to upload files. Most people have a Google account as a gmail for example and this adds value rather than using a platform such as Tresorit. The reminders Google Drive provides when you reach a certain limit of …
Chose Google Drive
Price, costs/benefits ratio is excellent, comparing with others products. This facilitating access and use by a large number of people, with a fair price and with all the support of google behind. When compared to other products, the price, ease of implementation, and multiple …
Chose Google Drive
We are also a Microsoft school in addition to GSuite. The Microsoft products don't seem to flow as well in my opinion. I also have had serious synchronization issues with OneDrive. I found OneDrive a little more difficult to navigate when looking for files within folders. …
Chose Google Drive
In short, Google Drive is better for independent users who store a normal amount of stuff. OneDrive makes more sense for businesses and teams that are doing heavy-duty storage or large-scale syncing. Realistically, though, most users will fall somewhere in between the two, …
Chose Google Drive
The free plan takes Google Drive at the top of the stack, paying nothing you can store data up to 15GB. This could be really important for a startup that has to consider how to manage the initial budget. I selected Google Drive because I had already a Google account, before …
Chose Google Drive
Once I tried Dropbox when I need to share some images the UI was not intuitive and there were limited space for free user. I switched to using Google Drive as device syncing feature is the best feature of the drive using this we can upload any file from any device and this will …
Chose Google Drive
Can't compare, it's faster. It owns several Google platforms. Organization, search, and collaborative work 100%
Chose Google Drive
Even though AWS provides a very similar service, Google Drive presents a much easier, cleaner and more user friendly platform (both through explorer or desktop app). Contrary to AWS where each collaborator needs to have a specific set of credentials to access the storage, Drive …
IBM Cloud Object Storage
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
In my opinion, IBM are much more professional and are more buisness oriented than Google.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
As Google Cloud Storage is our main product for this kind of thing, it remains the standard but in terms of overall performance, flexibility, stability, durability, and scalability, IBM Cloud Object Storage has put it through its paces. I think having a product put Google …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Amazon S3 has a more complex pricing model. It charges as per the requests, which will be more costly for us compared to IBM cloud object storage. The safety of our data is the main focus, and this is guaranteed with IBM.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Along with IBM Watson for AI and machine learning, IBM Aspera for fast data transport, and IBM Cloud SQL Query for data analysis, IBM Cloud Object Storage works seamlessly with other IBM Cloud services. For research initiatives that call for a variety of tools and services, …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage compares favorably with other storage solutions due to its:

Scalability: IBM Cloud Object Storage can easily handle growing data volumes, making it suitable for businesses with evolving storage needs.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
We've evaluated both (and use both), but we've found IBM Cloud Object Storage to be easier to use and manage overall.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
We selected IBM Cloud Object Storage against S3 for following reasons:1.
1. We already use a lot of IBM's cloud services, IBM Cloud Object Storage would have been easier to manage.
2. It is really cost effective with the features it brings in.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IB cloud storage offers more options than what is offered by AWS cloud storage
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Amazon S3 is a great service to safely back up your data where redundancy is guaranteed, and the cost is fair. In the past I have used Amazon S3 for data that we backup and hope we never need to access, but in the case of a catastrophic or even small slip of the finger with the …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
As far as the other cloud storage services are concerned, I have limited experience. I used pleased by IBM cloud storage because it provided a smooth, running environment for my data science projects. I used IBM Watson Studio and the experience was smooth. I used IBM Db2, and …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage is a product that gives us greater scalability, and important security features such as WORM, in addition to Simplicity and Enhanced file access
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
At the end of the day it is an IBM product that gives us a guarantee of being very robust, it is very safe, and reliable, and it also allows flexibility.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
The previous cloud OSS platform that we used was provided by Google. Functionality in OSS is restricted in several ways. The setup and configuration steps are complicated, making the software difficult to operate. We had no problems at all during our time at IBM. Buckets may be …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Every vendor provides the storage capability. Just IBM Cloud Object Storage suits our needs from the cost perspective and usage perspective.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
I use these services for covering my technological demand and each of them is highly recommended.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Previously, we were a user of alibaba cloud OSS. There are some limitations on OSS features. Also, not easy to use due to some complex configurations and setup processes. We didn't face any difficulties here in IBM. Easy configuration and management of buckets can be done with …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers, IBM Cloud Virtual Servers and IBM Cloud File Storage
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
It helps to scale performance greatly. Also, it is easy to learn and is developer-friendly, has high data handling capacity, and is easy to administer.
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Azure App Service
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
Amazon S3 service is also a good option, but based on features it provides compared with IBM Cloud Object Storage, it is less suitable. IBM Cloud Object Storage [is] also integrated with more services, like IBM Cloud SQL and IBM Aspera, which AWS does not provide to transfer …
Features
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
7.8
Ratings
7% below category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
Versioning8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files7.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
File search6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.1
Ratings
7% below category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
User and role management8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.3
Ratings
2% below category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
Performance8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports8.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Comparison of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
-
Ratings
IBM Cloud Object Storage
7.9
Ratings
2% below category average
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Dynamic scaling00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Elastic load balancing00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Monitoring tools00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Security controls00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.7 out of 10
DigitalOcean Droplets
DigitalOcean Droplets
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
5.8
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object Storage
Likelihood to Recommend
Suppose you require quick access to files across multiple systems. Real-time collaboration on Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. You don’t have to send ten different versions of the same file back and forth. One person can write a document in Los Angeles, and someone in Tokyo can be on at the same time and see their edits as they make them.
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IBM Cloud Object Storage is well suited for businesses that require scalable and cost-effective data storage solutions. It excels in scenarios involving massive unstructured data, like multimedia content, backups, and archives. However, it may be less appropriate for organizations with minimal storage needs or those requiring high-performance, low-latency access to data, as it's optimized for durability and data integrity rather than real-time data retrieval.
Read full review
Pros
  • Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
  • You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
  • You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS
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  • Cloud storage allows you to save data and files in an off-site location that you access either through the public internet or a dedicated private network connection.
  • Cloud storage delivers a cost-effective, scalable alternative to storing files on on-premise hard drives or storage networks.
  • Cloud storage services provide elasticity, which means you can scale capacity as your data volumes increase or dial down capacity if necessary.
  • Business continuity of Storing data offsite supports business continuity in the event that a natural disaster or terrorist attack cuts access to your premises.
Read full review
Cons
  • Advanced File Search, personally I find it uncomfortable to search for files with specific extensions within my drive in Google Drive, the interface is not very clear and the search options are limited, making this work tedious.
  • In applications like Google Sheets, the number of cells is extremely small, which limits the amount of information that can be saved, this makes the tool focus on small files.
  • Inherited permissions, it happens to me that in certain shared files when analyzing the permissions granted to the participants some of them are left with owner permissions without having given such property, that point is confusing so I would like the interface to be clearer.
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  • Unexpected errors are known to occur when downloading/uploading files.
  • Not easy to get started. In order to take full advantage of the platform and its features, additional training and reading documentation is needed.
  • The UI of the platform can get a bit confusing and it's easy to get lost.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.
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because it is a robust, safe and flexible product
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Usability
It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.
Read full review
For my use cases, it has been a very smooth experience. Even my new colleagues have been able to get on top of things very quickly. This shows how easy it is to work with
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Always available
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We rarely face downtime or access issues with IBM Cloud Object Storage. It’s mostly available when we need it, even during peak hours or heavy data loads.
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Performance
The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.
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I would give it a 9 because it works smooth with our AI and analytics tools, no major slowdown. Pages and dashboards load fine most of the time, and reports finish in decent time even when data is heavy.
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Support Rating
It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.
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I have been working in IT sector for more than 15 years. I have worked with various vendors. IBM's sales team, support team have been really helpful. After we start to use their product, their UX design team also contacted us to get feedback from us. They are really interested about our experience.
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In-Person Training
The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
No answers on this topic
I just researching and applying the tools on their platforms to ensure a good learning path, based on my needs. Reading the documentation related with resources, tools. Is too big, but I am trying to know more about it every day. It is a good way to know more about their resources. A new way to attract new customers. At the end of the day, we are all involved in improvement and automation of our tasks and resources for customers and end-users.
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Implementation Rating
It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases
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IBM's professional service for migrating data and implementing new cloud environment was perfect. They started to help us before we begin to bring together all data such as how can it could be best to transfer all data without problems. During the migration they watched all the process closely to prevent any failure. Lastly, after the migration, they gave us trainings on implementation.
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Alternatives Considered
Apple Drive dosn't offer that much storage and doesn't provide vast features with collaborative tools like docs , spreadsheet and forms etc. Google drive also allows you to search for files and folders that contain certain words in their title or content in any perticular file. therefore search is very deep and reliable and hepls to access your data easily
Read full review
As Google Cloud Storage is our main product for this kind of thing, it remains the standard but in terms of overall performance, flexibility, stability, durability, and scalability, IBM Cloud Object Storage has put it through its paces. I think having a product put Google through its paces is always a good thing, both for businesses and for the industry overall.
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Scalability
I have always been able to access
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Scaling up the number of users can lead to significant increases in licensing costs, which, while not a technical limitation, can be a practical constraint for some organizations
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Return on Investment
  • It has given our operation remote capabilities
  • Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
  • availability to digital resources fast and easy
  • saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
  • our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it
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  • In our company, we moved from on-premise to IBM cloud, our ElasticSearch Solution storage in block storage to an ICD elastic search solution with Object storage, and we reduced our cost by more than 45%.
  • Object Storage is a managed service, so you can have savings in your storage-managed team.
  • We have improved our data availability because the Regional solution of COS is distributed in three different Availability Zones.
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ScreenShots

Google Drive Screenshots

Screenshot of Google Drive PriorityScreenshot of Comment on Microsoft Files in Google DriveScreenshot of Shared drives

IBM Cloud Object Storage Screenshots

Screenshot of Cloud Object Storage set upScreenshot of storage bucket creationScreenshot of the Access Management interfaceScreenshot of the interface to create, add and management of Storage BucketsScreenshot of data uploadingScreenshot of usage details