Google Drive vs. Socialcast (discontinued)

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
Socialcast (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Socialcast was an enterprise social networking and collaboration platform acquired by VMware in 2011. The platform allowed an organization's employees to share information and documents with co-workers in real time through a Facebook- or Twitter-like news feed. VMware announced its end of availability (EOA) effective May 2018.
$250
per month
Pricing
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.6
202 Ratings
2% above category average
Socialcast (discontinued)
5.7
4 Ratings
35% below category average
Versioning8.3178 Ratings2.12 Ratings
Video files8.0171 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Audio files8.1165 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Document collaboration9.2199 Ratings6.74 Ratings
Access control8.9197 Ratings7.23 Ratings
File search8.9201 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.0188 Ratings4.02 Ratings
Advanced security features00 Ratings5.83 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.3
196 Ratings
4% below category average
Socialcast (discontinued)
-
Ratings
User and role management8.3185 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization7.9195 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management8.799 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.8
196 Ratings
4% above category average
Socialcast (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Performance8.7194 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability9.1196 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports8.587 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Socialcast (discontinued)
6.3
4 Ratings
22% below category average
Task Management00 Ratings7.74 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings6.33 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings3.83 Ratings
Search00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Visual planning tools00 Ratings3.43 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Socialcast (discontinued)
7.5
4 Ratings
7% below category average
Chat00 Ratings8.74 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings8.14 Ratings
Surveys00 Ratings8.73 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings6.14 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings7.92 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 10.0 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(203 ratings)
7.7
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(5 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(36 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(48 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google DriveSocialcast (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
It is possible to share files and folders with up to 200 email addresses, as well as with persons outside the company.Use the drop-down arrow to select who may see, comment on, or change the file or folder before sending out an invitation.I am very much impressed with this feature
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Socialcast has been a great tool for FactSet. I would recommend it to any firm looking for an easy-to-use tool to centralize communication and collaborate on a global scale.
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • 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
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • Socialcast has an exceptional user experience. With very few idiosyncrasies, it works well on every platform I've tried.
  • The platform has such a high level of ease of use, it becomes somewhat addicting.
  • Social analytics are superb.
  • The platform is highly intuitive and requires zero training or coaching in order for network members to become productive with it.
  • It's extremely reliable. Only once in 4 years, was the product not available, and that was only for about a half-hour. In that half-hour, we realized how dependent we were on it. (Very.)
  • The multi-device and deployment options are excellent. On-premise, Private Cloud, and Multi-tenant SaaS all available.
  • The mobile apps for iPhone, tablets, and Android render well with a beautiful UI/UX. The desktop AIR app is equally highly usable.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Having a little bit more control and clarity over what is shared and how it is shared would be a useful improvement.
  • Could be more robust and flexible as far as assigning restrictions.
  • Google Sheets could be enhanced because Excel really is not there yet as a product with equal capabilities as there are still quite a few limitations to the functionality.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • The software is a little bit pricey because it is charged by user/month and depending on the deployment method.
  • For companies with a lot of workers the price can increase significantly.
  • The mobile app usability and notifications are poor. Need to be improved.
  • If there were more administrative features available the product would be improved
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
For its compatibility, easiness, quick responses, user interface, storage capacity, files management and file listings. These are some of the reasons for giving higher ratings and Google Drive has become an integral part of my professional life. We use this software on daily basis and most of the time saving lot of time.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Beyond the value FactSet derives from using the platform, Socialcast (the firm) has been a good partner to FactSet. We've experienced very little downtime with the service and they have been responsive and fair with enhancement requests and questions
Read full review
Usability
Google
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.
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Discontinued Products
The UX is its best feature
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Google
Always available
Read full review
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Performance
Google
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.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
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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Discontinued Products
Excellent support; of course not perfect. :-)
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In-Person Training
Google
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.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Google
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
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Not applicable, as it is a SaaS platform with minimal implementation
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Google
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, where either platform would meet their needs.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
Socialcast is great for collaboration & light project management, but anything complex doesn't work well.

Using it as an email notification curator works nice for us.
Read full review
Scalability
Google
I have always been able to access
Read full review
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Google
  • 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
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • Definitely more organized project management and team collaboration.
  • Efficiency in carrying out tasks.
  • Creates a spirit of collaboration and friendliness among colleagues.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Google Drive Screenshots

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