Google killed Drive in 2017 and replaced it with two apps. Now it’s killing those, and Drive is returning
Sync'n'store users have forced migration to conduct within 80 days – enjoy yourselves, Workspaces admins!
Users of Google’s desktop cloud storage app "Backup and Sync" have 80 days to sort out the client they use to sync data into the G-Cloud.
The ad giant on Monday announced the realisation of a plan to replace its two desktop sync clients – “Backup and Sync” and “Drive File Stream” – with a single new client named “Drive for desktop”.
Readers may find the imminent debut of Drive for desktop a little odd, given that in September 2017 Google deprecated what was then called “Google Drive” and created “Backup and Sync” and “Drive File Stream” as replacements.
When Google launched the two apps it suggested it would make life easier for enterprise users.
Google has admitted it got that wrong.
“Some of our Google Workspace customers have deployed both sync solutions, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage,” states its February announcement. “To address this, we’re planning to unify these sync clients later in 2021, bringing the most-used features from both Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync to all of our users.”
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Google’s notification that its plans have come to fruition sets a tight timetable.
Starting on July 19th, the two apps “will support a guided flow to help users transition onto Drive for desktop”.
Come August 18th, users still on Backup and Sync will start to receive in-product notifications prompting them to transition to Drive for desktop. And on October 1st, users of Backup and Sync won’t be able to backup or sync. Data will not be deleted.
October 1st is 80 days downstream from Google’s announcement of the change.
Beta versions of Drive for desktop have been around for quite some time, so plenty of admins have had time to start figuring out who runs it and how to get them moving to the new application.
Admins have also been spared the need to upgrade Drive File Stream. As Google’s advice states:
There’s no significant impact to users like you. In the latest release, you will just see the tool renamed to ‘Drive for desktop’. You’ll also get new features from Backup and Sync as part of a release later this year.
But Google hasn’t really said when those features will land, or what features will appear. This would be nice to know, given that data is quite sensitive stuff and not all of it belongs in a cloud.
Google is infamous for killing products swiftly and without mercy. Resurrecting them because the initial culling didn’t work well is a new one though. Innovative. ®
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