Google has announced the launch of new desktop application for Google Drive users, called Drive File Stream, which is now available to G Suite customers. The app will serve as a replacement for the Google Drive desktop app that will be shut down for good next year – a far enough date to give enterprise customers plenty of time to make the switch.
Back in July, Google had announced that it would consolidate its desktop file sync applications for Google Drive and Google Photos for consumers into a single new app called “Backup and Sync” ahead of its plan to end support for the older Google Photos and Google Drive client apps for Mac and PC.
Related to this, it said it would launch an enterprise solution called Drive File Stream, which would roll out to all G Suite customers at a later date. It also opened an Early Adopter Program for Drive File Stream at that time. A key difference between the consumer application and the enterprise version is the option for administrative control.
Company I.T. departments starting today will see the settings for Drive File Stream appear in the Admin Console for their version of G Suite, says Google. This will allow them to configure and distribute the solution for their domain, including turning sync on, specifying how the software is installed, disabling Google Update if the company prefers manual updates, and managing other settings.
The Drive File Stream settings have started going into effect as the solution has become generally available. The older Google Drive desktop software will no longer be supported beginning on December 11th, 2017, and it will shut down completely on March 12th, 2018, Google says.
