Microsoft’s storage service was involved in a bitter trademark dispute with British pay-TV provider BSkyB over their cloud storage device name SkyDrive. As a result, Microsoft announced that they would change their name to OneDrive. As of today, this name change also covers the website, the mobile apps and the desktop apps.
Microsoft is not stranger to renaming its consumer products in order to give it a leg up on the competition. As an illustration, it changed Hotmail to Windows Live Mail then Outlook. Additionally, Microsoft is launching a referral program. If a friend uses your link to sign up for the service, you get an additional 500MB of storage. Also, if you configure automatic image uploads from your Android, iOS or Windows phone, you receive 3MB more storage. Previous to this update, the Android app did not come with a backup feature, but it does now.
So, will the name change, and referral system make a dent in Google Drive’s consumer base? That depends. For instance, several consumer tests have shown OneDrive to have a significantly slower response time to Google Drive. On the other hand, OneDrive offers lower overall prices and a larger amount of free storage.
When it comes to collaboration and editing documents, spreadsheets and slideshows; Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is the clear winner because it conveys edits in real time. With OneDrive, you need to save your documents first, then refresh in order to view your changes. There is definitely a need for speed when working online.
What if you accidentally delete a file? In OneDrive, it will be permanently lost, but Google Drive places it in a trash can where you still have the option to retrieve it. However, in terms of users, Microsoft has 200 million and Google Drive has about 10 million. To be fair, OneDrive comes with the Windows OS, and it is installed in millions of computers.
Microsoft did feel the need to rebrand its cloud storage system, which must mean it is acutely aware of its opposition, especially from Google.
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