November Newsletter: Google Backup and Sync, Drive File Stream and Calendar

Similar to the Google Drive desktop application, Google Backup and Sync will give you access to your Google Drive files and allow for folder synchronization. In fact, not much will change regarding the access to Google Drive. The only change in the syncing process is that folders in your system not only sync to Google Drive, but also sync from Google Drive to your computer so you can access them offline. Most of the additions will be on the backup side of the application. You can now backup your computer Photos and Videos to the Google cloud using the method outlined here. But backing up is not limited to just that, you can also backup data such as Desktop, Documents, and other libraries from your computer.

For regular Google users; Backup and Sync became available September 7th, 2017. It will be replacing the Drive application on Windows and Mac OS starting on December 11th, 2017.  Drive will no longer be supported by Google and it will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018. The Google Drive service itself will not be changed, just the Desktop applications.

Click here for more information about Google Backup and Sync.

Google Drive File Stream is the Business version of Backup and Sync, so if you are a GSuite user, then it is recommended to get the Google Drive File Stream app. File Stream became available on September 26th, 2017 for Administrators to configure and install for GSuite domain users. When using Drive File Stream, all files in My Drive and Team Drives are streamed on demand, and will only be downloaded upon opening. By using this solution, company data stored on local hard drives will be minimized, as will the network bandwidth used for synchronizing files to and from the cloud.

This table describes the main differences between Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync:

More information on Google File Stream can be found in this article.

Google Calendar has recently gone through a redesign process and be available for Google GSuite users somewhere between November 14th and November 28th, unless your Administrator has already enabled it for your organization. Personal Google Calendar users just need to click “Use New Calendar” in the upper right hand corner of the Calendar to get started. What you’ll first notice is the biggest change to the calendar; a fresh visual redesign that resembles its mobile counterpart. The more modern and aesthetic look allows for the new calendar to be more eye-pleasing than the previous version.

The calendar’s functionality has added a few new features.You can now add Conference Rooms to your calendar and input information such as: the room’s location, Audio/Video equipment, size, booking and accessibility. All this information can be available to employees by simply hovering your mouse over the room name.