Google is finally rolling out a team-friendly version of Drive

It's taken long enough, but Google has launched a version of its Drive cloud computing service built for teams rather than individual users.

Sure, it's not been a problem to share documents stored in Google Drive – but documents which are really part of the company's library and work process end up living in one person's Drive account.

Team Drive changes that by setting up a cloud space where all your business documents live, and which everybody on the team  can access based on permissions set by administrators.

This will make things a lot easier when it comes to juggling different teams, such as those assigned on a per-project basis.

Team Drive is now available in beta edition through Google's Early Adopter Program, with broader availability expected by early 2017.

The new team-friendly cloud is part of an overhaul of Google Apps, which has now been rebranded as the catchier G Suite – an all-encompassing paid set of apps including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

There's also a new Team Meetings mode in Google Hangouts which lets people without a Google account – yes, they do exist – participate in a Hangout online meeting session using a simple weblink and dial-in number.

For more on the G Suite changes, click through to the official Google Cloud Blog.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.