Google has acquired Canadian start-up AppBridge to help businesses migrate data from their on-premises, cloud-based and hybrid solutions to Google Drive.
Vancouver-based AppBridge, founded by Cameron Wallin and Matthew McKinnon, allows businesses to migrate data from their file servers or content management systems to Google Drive.
The acquisition was announced as part of Google Drive’s improvements to cater to enterprise users.
Google said: “File permissions are also brought over when you migrate, which means your team’s file access remains unchanged and your data stays safe.”
With more than 800 million daily active users, Google’s improvements to its Drive service are aimed at proving improved online storage compared to its rivals.
While Google Drive is mostly used for storing and sharing files at an individual level, at present the company is focused on offering the same services to enterprises. 
In an interview to TechCrunch, Google Engineering vice president Prabhakar Raghavan said: “You’re probably familiar with Google Drive as essentially a personal file storage solution.
“We took a look at that and said that a graphical user interface on top of the Unix ‘ls’ command is not that much of a value-add. So we asked: What does it take to really become a player in the enterprise.”
To offer enhanced Drive services for enterprises, Google has added new features such as Team Drives, File Stream, Quick Access and Google Vault Drive.
Read more: Cloud Wars: Google Cloud just made a lot of its services free to use
Team Drives allows enterprises to keep their data safe by providing more controls on the shared data. It now provides administrators with enhanced controls for tracking file storage and maintenance work and add new team members.
Google Vault for Drive enables administrators to gain the governance controls they need to manage and secure all their files.
Google said: “With powerful data protection tools, Google Vault for Drive ensures your admins have full control of your company data in the cloud.”
The other feature, File Stream, allows enterprise users to quickly stream files directly from the cloud to their computers.
