Why Companies Use Google Drive
Google Drive is popular because it's free (up to 15 GB), simple, and integrated with Gmail. For small teams sharing presentations and spreadsheets, it's perfectly adequate.
But when your company grows, when regulatory requirements appear, when documents become critical to operations — Google Drive shows its limitations.
7 Reasons Google Drive Can't Replace a DMS
1. No Version Control for PDFs and Scanned Documents
Google Drive has versioning for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. But for PDFs, Word files, Excel spreadsheets, and scanned documents — which make up 90% of business documentation — there's no versioning. If someone accidentally deletes or overwrites a file, the original is lost.
2. Search Doesn't Understand PDF Content
Google Drive can search text inside Google documents, but for PDF files, search only works on file names. Scanned documents are completely unsearchable. A DMS with OCR and AI search finds documents by content, even in scans.
3. No Retention Periods
Google Drive doesn't know that an invoice must be kept for 7 years or that an employment contract must be retained for 6 years after termination. A DMS automatically tracks legal retention periods and alerts you before expiry.
4. Granular Access Control Is Limited
Google Drive has sharing by folder or file, but for large teams this quickly becomes impractical. A DMS has role-based access control (RBAC) — define roles (accountant, director, driver) and each role automatically gets access to appropriate documents.
5. No Audit Trail
Who opened the document? Who modified it? When? Google Drive keeps basic history but doesn't provide the detailed audit trail required for tax audits and regulatory inspections. A DMS logs every action.
6. No Electronic Signing
Google Drive has no built-in function for qualified electronic signing. You must use a third-party tool (DocuSign, Adobe Sign) and manually transfer files back and forth. A DMS like Arhivix has eSign integrated — sign documents without leaving the system.
7. No Automatic Categorization
On Google Drive, organization is 100% manual — you create folders, you move files, you name documents. A DMS with AI automatically categorizes documents the moment you upload them.
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | Google Drive | Arhivix DMS |
|---|---|---|
| PDF content search | Limited | AI + OCR search |
| Scanned documents | Unsearchable | OCR → searchable |
| PDF versioning | No | Yes — full history |
| Retention periods | No | Automatic tracking |
| Electronic signature | No (third-party) | Integrated QES + timestamp |
| Auto categorization | No | AI categorization |
| Audit trail | Basic | Detailed audit log |
| Regulatory compliance | Partial | Full (GDPR, eIDAS) |
| Price (10 users) | ~€70/mo (Business) | From €25/mo |
When Is Google Drive Enough?
Google Drive is perfectly fine if:
- You have fewer than 5 employees
- You don't work with regulated documents (invoices, contracts, delivery notes)
- You don't need electronic signatures
- Documents aren't critical to your operations
For everyone else — a DMS is essential.
How to Migrate from Google Drive to a DMS
The transition is simpler than you think:
- Export all files from Google Drive (Google Takeout or sync)
- Import into Arhivix — bulk upload with automatic categorization
- AI search immediately indexes all documents
- Set up access — define who can see what
- Cancel Google Workspace (or keep it just for email)
Conclusion
Google Drive is great for sharing holiday photos. But for business documents with legal retention requirements, that need signatures, and must be searchable — you need a proper DMS.
Switch to Arhivix and stop using a personal file tool for serious business.
