Why not just use Google Drive as a Document Management System?

Google Drive is a hugely popular, cloud-based program that allows you to create, edit, store, and share documents. 40% of fortune 500 companies around the world use these suite of tools to power their file sharing and collaboration process. But should your company follow suit and use the G-Drive as your document management system?

What are the benefits of Google Drive?

• Enables access to all your documents from any device with an internet connection
• Enables easy, real-time collaboration with other users via shared files and folders
• Flexible storage options, including the ability to store large files up to 5TB in size
• Advanced security features, such as two-step verification and encryption
• Easy integration with other Google products, such as Google Docs and Google Sheets
• Offers a robust mobile app to access, edit, and share documents on the go
• Provides built-in eSignature support for Google Docs and PDFs, allowing documents to be signed and locked without third-party tools
• Offers AI-powered features such as video previews, PDF summaries, and activity insights

These are powerful features. But while Google Drive is a great collaboration tool for many modern organisations, should it be used as an electronic document management system (eDMS) for high tech and med tech businesses?

Is Google Drive a document management system?

While Google Drive excels at file sharing and teamwork, it is fundamentally different from an electronic document management system (DMS). It is not designed for industries where document control and auditing is a non-negotiable part of quality management.

Here are seven use cases where Google Drive could fail you

• Imposing advanced document controls
• Supporting advanced versioning
• Supporting multiple file formats
• Compliance support through e-signatures
• Setting up multiple workflows - including project phase gating
• Supplying advanced reporting
• Supporting custom metadata

1. Advanced document controls

Use case: I need to manage my team’s design and quality documents, ensuring that no one can accidentally delete, move, or alter a document without proper authorisation. I must also be able to provide a complete audit trail of all document changes to a regulator.

• Google Drive: With Google Drive, you can share files and folders with other users, setting access rights to view, comment, or edit. However, if a user has "edit" access, they can still delete, move, or share documents without restriction. This loose model of control can create a risk of lost or inaccurate information and a broken chain of oversight.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS provides fine-grained, role-based controls that go beyond simple edit access. It can enforce granular permissions for viewing, editing, approving, and releasing documents. This ensures nothing can be altered without proper authority and maintains an indelible audit trail of every approved change, which is essential for compliance with regulations and quality standards like ISO 13485, ISO 9001 and the FDA QMSR

2. Advanced versioning

Use case: My team relies on a single product specification document for manufacturing. I need to be absolutely certain that everyone is always working from the latest, most recently approved version of that document.

• Google Drive: Google Drive includes version history, which allows users to see time-stamped versions of a file. However, previous versions can be restored by users with editing rights, meaning an outdated file could accidentally overwrite the current one.
• DMS Solution: A robust DMS automatically locks down approved versions of key documentation.  This ensures that only the latest version file is visible and available for use by teams, while retaining a full document history for auditors to scrutinise. Features like watermarking of draft and obsolete versions can further reduce the risk of mistakes being made.

3. Supporting multiple file formats

Use case: Our engineering team needs to collaborate on specialised file types, such as complex CAD drawings and engineering formats. We need a system that can display these files and provide structured tools for gathering comments and approvals.

• Google Drive: The Google Drive viewer is compatible with many common file types, but it has limited support for specialist formats like CAD drawings. Drive also lacks a structured way to gather and track comments or approvals on these files, forcing teams to rely on fragmented email threads.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS is built for regulated industries and can store, display, and manage a wide variety of formats. It provides integrated tools for commenting and approvals directly within the file, centralising the entire review process without the need for extra software or manual tracking.

4. Compliance support through e-signatures

Use case: I need to prove to a regulator that our approval process is controlled and tamper-proof, . I need a system that can provide all the proof I need to meet Annex 11 and FDA 21 CFR 11 requirements.

• Google Drive: Drive’s latest eSignature capability has strengthened its offering by locking documents once they are signed. However, this still falls short of the strictest compliance expectations. Regulations like FDA 21 CFR Part 11 require system validation (CSV), clear signature manifestation, immutable audit trails, and controlled identity verification, all of which Google Drive does not provide natively.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS is typically designed from the ground up to meet these complex compliance requirements. It ensures system validation to prove reliability, provides clear signature manifestation for every sign-off, and maintains a time-stamped, indelible audit trail that is independent of the user.  These systems can give managers and auditors clear oversight of when documents were signed, by whom and, for what purpose.

5. Setting up multiple workflows - including project phase gating

Use case: We have complex, multi-step business processes for change management and product development. I need a solution that can automatically route documents and ensure a project only advances after all approvals have been collected.

• Google Drive: Google Drive can route certain files through simple signature approvals, but this functionality is limited. More complex workflows, such as phase-gated product development or deviation handling, are not natively supported, forcing teams to rely on manual processes and external tools.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS allows you to configure flexible workflows with rules based on document type or security profile. It can automatically send reminders, and ensure projects only advance after all required approvals are secured. These structured workflows demonstrate compliance and provide confidence that processes are properly controlled.

6. Advanced reporting

Use case: As a manager, I need to see a real-time report on the status of our quality documents. I need to know where a document is in its lifecycle, who has signed it, and which approvals are outstanding.

• Google Drive: Google Drive now includes dashboards and AI-powered insights, but these are still, basic compared to the reporting functions of a proprietary DMS. They lack the specific, detailed reporting that managers and auditors need to ensure compliance and process adherence.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS provides a clear, defensible level of advanced reporting. It gives managers and auditors the oversight they need by showing a document's full lifecycle, who has signed it, and the status of every approval.

7. Custom metadata

Use case: We need to classify our documents based on specific business criteria, such as a product code, an expiry date, or a regulatory category. We also need to be able to find and manage documents based on these custom tags.

• Google Drive: Google Drive does not allow you to create custom metadata fields for documents. This limits the ability to classify and organise documents beyond a simple file-and-folder structure, making them harder to find, manage, and automate.
• DMS Solution: A proprietary DMS supports custom metadata fields, making documents easier to find, manage, and control. This metadata is also essential for automating document lifecycles, ensuring documents are routed for review or archived based on their regulatory category or expiry date.

Conclusion

Google Drive is a familiar, low-cost, and essential tool for today’s collaborative business world. Its integration with Workspace, eSignatures, and AI enhancements make it an intuitive, versatile solution for storing and sharing documents.

However, it is not designed to meet the compliance, control, and lifecycle management requirements of highly regulated industries. For example, it does not provide validation, signature manifestation, or the kind of audit history required under quality standards and regulations such as the QMSR, ISO 13485, 21 CFR Part 11 or EU Annex 11.

A dedicated DMS should provide:

• Granular access and approval controls
• Locked versioning
• Flexible workflows
• Advanced reporting
• Metadata-driven lifecycle management
• Audit-ready compliance features

For organisations that need to demonstrate compliance, avoid costly mistakes, and maintain a single source of truth, an enterprise-grade DMS remains the right solution.

Blog post updated on 16/09/2025