by Jim Lundy
Google is renaming some of its services. The standalone storage options—known as Google Drive—just became Google One, and existing Google Drive paid subscribers will be upgraded to Google One over the next few months.
Google One: Simpler Branding
Aragon sees Google One as a branding and packaging play. It uses the name “One,” a term that Microsoft uses for its OneDrive offering.
There seems to be a trend in branding these days to draft off of common terms. Cisco just did this with its rebranding of the Spark messaging app as Webex Teams in an attempt to draft off of Microsoft Teams (see Aragon’s Cisco Copies Microsoft blog).
Google One Pricing: Similar to Apple
Google Drive was a solid choice for storage and Google One keeps that trend moving. Google One’s storage capability is attractive and competes with Amazon, Apple, DropBox, and others.
However, there isn’t anything new here on pricing. Google promises better support and other offers, but if they want to disrupt, they should offer more.
| Vendor/Storage Pricing | 100 GB/Month | 200 GB /Month | 1 TB/Year | 2 TB/Year | Unlimited /Year* |
| Amazon | N/A | N/A | $ 60.00 | $119.00 | N/A** |
| Apple | 50 GB for $1.99 | 2.99 | N/A | $ 120.00 | N/A |
| Box | $5.00 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $180.00 |
| Dropbox | N/A | N/A | $99.00 | $180.00 | $300.00 |
| $1.99 | $2.99 | N/A | $120.00 | $120.00 | |
| Microsoft | 50 GB for $1.99 | N/A | $69.00 | N/A | $240.00 |
Table 1: Pricing for cloud storage is similar until you get to higher storage volumes.
*Unlimited plans have minimum user requirements. See vendor websites for details.
** Amazon offers volume storage, but not unlimited. See their site for details.
Unlimited Storage: G Suite Business Is the Best Value
Google G Suite Business, Enterprise, and Education customers have access to unlimited storage. G Suite Enterprise starts at $10.00 per user per month. To get unlimited storage, you need to have at least five users. Like Google, Dropbox, Box, and Microsoft offer unlimited storage. Most of the unlimited storage plans target the enterprise.
4K Video Is Coming: Increase Your Storage
Enterprises and individuals might ask, “Why do I need more storage?” The answer is simple: 4K video.
4K video is here and it will exceed current storage limits quickly. Our advice is to add as much storage as you can now so you don’t have to react to a crisis later.