There are two major& full-service cloud storage providers in the industry today& Google and Microsoft. Each provides a full ecosystem of services tied together. There is email& there is an online suite of office productivity apps& and there is a cloud storage solution. For Microsoft& this is Outlook for email& Word& Excel& and PowerPoint for office productivity& and OneDrive for cloud storage. For Google& this is Gmail for email& Docs& Slides& and Sheets for office productivity& and Google Drive for cloud storage.
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Why Link OneDrive to Google Drive?
Desktop and laptop are where Microsoft flexes its muscles. In an office environment& you will find more people using Microsoft Office than Google’s G Suite& although Google’s G Suite is still a sizeable chunk. Everywhere else& it is Google with the Android operating system. So& in a way& there is an unspoken divide between the office and home environments where Microsoft and Google shine& respectively& and in some cases where Google’s G Suite is the choice for business as well.
In such a world& it becomes quite important to know how to link OneDrive to Google Drive to have a little more streamlined workflow and automation in your life that makes your job easier and less prone to errors. Some of the team is maybe more comfortable using Gmail and G Suite. At the same time& some would be comfortable with Microsoft Office& which is a fact in today’s companies& and you need to be able to connect OneDrive to Google Drive to transfer documents between these two services easily and reliably.
The other reason it is preferred to link OneDrive and Google Drive is the most common reason of all – backup. Linking Google Drive and OneDrive ensures that our working drive is always backed up& and even if there is a screw-up somewhere in our working drive& there is a backup that can be availed instantly& and work can continue.
Using Wondershare InClowdz To Link OneDrive To Google Drive
If you are technically sound and like to get into details& you will appreciate using the Microsoft Power Automate platform that utilizes Microsoft Flow to sync OneDrive contents to Google Drive automatically.
However& sometimes& you want a simpler way that requires zero brain power and gets the job done without delving into the details. For those times& Wondershare InClowdz is perfect.
Wondershare InClowdz is a cloud service that makes it easy to sync data between clouds& migrate data from one cloud service to another& and even manage your cloud from within InClowdz. It is a powerhouse of a platform from the Wondershare stables. You can use InClowdz to link your OneDrive to Google Drive easily and in just a few steps.
Migrate, Sync, Manage Clouds Files in One Place
- • Migrate cloud files such as photos, music, documents from one drive to another, like Dropbox to Google Drive.
- • Backup your music, photos, videos in one could drive to another to keep files safe.
- • Manage all cloud drives such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, box, and Amazon S3 in one place.
- • Sync clouds files such as music, photos, videos, etc., from one cloud drive to another.
Step 1: Download InClowdz and sign in or create a new account if you are not yet a user.
Step 2: The menu on the right-hand side contains an option to Sync. Click that option.
If this is the first time you are using InClowdz& you will need to add your cloud accounts to InClowdz. Click the Add Cloud Drive option and add your first cloud account. Repeat to add both the source OneDrive and target Google Drive accounts to InClowdz.
Step 3: Authorize both accounts to give access to InClowdz and start the sync.
InClowdz will tell you with a message when the sync process is complete.
Management Within Wondershare InClowdz
You can manage your cloud accounts in Wondershare InClowdz by using the Management option and adding your cloud accounts. This will allow you to add files and folders& rename& copy& move and delete files and folders easily from within Wondershare InClowdz. Enjoy the new way to control your data with Wondershare InClowdz.
How To Link OneDrive To Google Drive by File Stream or Flow?
Both Microsoft and Google provide ways to officially link OneDrive and Google Drive with each other& which most people should use to minimize errors and unnecessary terrors. Google provides Backup and Sync app for regular consumers and Drive File Stream for its G Suite customers. Microsoft provides the Power Automate platform that can be used for both OneDrive and OneDrive for Business accounts.
2.1 The Google Way: Google Drive File Stream
Google File Stream enables its G Suite customers to sync files& real-time presence in Microsoft Office for live collaboration& scheduling with Google Meet& and Microsoft Outlook integration. Backup and Sync is for personal Google Drive& not G Suite users& and is uninstalled before installing Google Drive File Stream. More information is available here: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375081.
Step 1: To start with Drive File Stream& enable sync for your organization by following these instructions: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7496409.
Step 2: After enabling sync for an organization& enable real-time Microsoft Office presence in Drive File Stream. This can be done in the admin console using the link above. The real-time presence feature allows G Suite users to know when working on a document so document conflicts can be averted during collaboration.
Detailed instructions regarding Google Drive File Stream are available here: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7491144. These are comprehensive instructions and may require technical knowledge to achieve the desired result. If you are unsure of anything& consult your system administrator.
2.2 The Microsoft Way: Power Automate and Microsoft Flow
Your OneDrive or OneDrive for Business can be linked to Google Drive using Microsoft’s own Power Automate platform and Microsoft Flow. You can set triggers for sync between OneDrive and Google Drive. So& say you set a folder to sync from OneDrive to Google Drive and then set a trigger such that when you copy files into the folder& the trigger goes off& and OneDrive syncs the files over to Google Drive into a designated folder in Google Drive& all automatically once you set it up. Here is how it goes.
It is recommended that you create separate folders in both Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive to sync. Any troubleshooting and any error arising in the process is limited to these folders and does not spill into your entire storage on either platform. Also& this helps you keep your data organized and quickly accessible.
Step 1: Log into your Google Drive and create a folder& say OneDrive Files& in Google Drive. You can do this on any device.
Step 2: Log into your OneDrive and create a similar folder titled Google Drive Files. Names can be of your choice. The only criterion is to make them relevant and memorable& so you do not have to wonder where the files from OneDrive in Google Drive are or where to copy files in OneDrive to sync over to Google Drive later on.
Step 3: Now& using a web browser& navigate to either https://onedrive.com or https://outlook.com if you are using Microsoft Personal& or to office.com if you are using Microsoft Business& and log in.
Step 4: From the top-left grid menu& select All Apps and click Power Automate
Step 5: You will land here:
Step 6: In the search box& type OneDrive
Step 7: From the flows that show& select the one titled ‘Sync new OneDrive Files to Google Drive Files.’
Step 8: You will need to sign in to both the OneDrive and Google Drive accounts so that OneDrive has permission and access needed to run the workflow. When you are signed in to both accounts& you will see green checkmarks beside each account.
Step 9: After selecting the folders' location to sync and sync to& click Create Flow.
Step 10: Click Edit at the top or at the right corner of the flow you just created. This will be shown:
Step 11: Click on the steps and check that the folders are what you set them as. Click advanced settings in step 1& and from Infer Content-Type& choose Yes from the drop-down menu.
Step 12: Click on the Test button. There is one final option where you should choose ‘I will perform the trigger action’ and click Save & Test.
If the steps were followed correctly& you would now be staring at a blank screen with a message to add a file to the OneDrive folder that you set.
Step 13: Head over to OneDrive& open the folder you set up the flow with& and add a test file to it. When the file is uploaded& go back to the tab with your flow. By this time& if the flow ran successfully& there will be a message waiting for you that your flow ran successfully.
Now& whenever OneDrive detects a new file in the specified folder& this workflow will trigger automatically& and the file will be synced to the specified folder in Google Drive.
3 Tips To Use OneDrive And Google Drive Smartly
Tip 1: As with any cloud storage solution& it is imperative to have a strong password. Both Google and Microsoft offer Two-factor Authentication& and you should make use of that to add an extra layer of security to your account. You can have a free authenticator app from either Google or Microsoft for the purpose.
Tip 2: The purpose of cloud storage is easy and ready access to important data and required to be available anytime and anyplace. With that in mind& the organization becomes key. Do not treat cloud storage as an extension of your local storage& as is often suggested and even branded by companies. Keep your data organized in folders that are named relevantly and only the data you need to either backup or want to have available wherever you are.
Tip 3: Never mix business and pleasure. Keep separate accounts for business use and personal use so that you can collaborate confidently without worrying about sharing permissions per se and without risking anyone else peeping where they should not.
Also noteworthy is that when you work at your office premises& all data belongs to the company. So& use only your business account at your company premises to avoid unnecessary and avoidable hassles.
Conclusion
Linking OneDrive and Google Drive is a smart way to create personal backups or when you want to move things around or keep your OneDrive files synced to your Google Drive. Still& it is also to work in an office environment where some people are using Google G Suite& and some are using Microsoft Office. To collaborate in such an environment& knowing how to link OneDrive to Google Drive can make for an easier and smoother collaborative experience for all.
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