Google slashes storage prices: Good for consumers, bad for the competition?
Cloud computing just got a lot more accessible. Google Drive announced Thursday it was lowering the price of its cloud storage service, incentivizing those who were happy to use only the free 15GB of storage to pay for more.
Google will now charge $1.99 per month for 100GB of storage down from $4.99, and $9.99 per month for 1TB versus $49.99.
The storage Google (GOOG) provides is actually shared between Gmail, Drive and Google+. Those who are already paying will be automatically placed into the new payment plan.
Related: Get ready to work in the cloud
This means that Google provides more storage than any of its competitors, and at a cheaper rate too. This might pose a problem for the valuations of popular cloud storage companies Dropbox and Box, both of which were planning on going public later this year.
The Daily Ticker’s Henry Blodget isn’t too concerned about the impact of Google's price cut on these two cloud companies.
“I’m not sure this actually hits Dropbox and Box too much…lots of people are already on Dropbox and Box and switching is a pain," he says.
Related: Storage Is the New Sexy — Why Dropbox Is Likely Worth $8 Billion
“If Google really wants to blow up the competition,” continues Blodget, “they should make it free…because even if Dropbox matches [Google's prices], Google is still doing well as a company. Google is a cash machine right now.”
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