Documents & file storage

Elium vs Google Drive

Drive is excellent file storage with first-class co-editing. Elium is the trusted knowledge platform above the files – one governed source your teams and your AI answer from. Most customers keep both.

Global leaders to growing teams, turning knowledge into answers with Elium

L'Oréal
VINCI
BNP Paribas
BCG
Lime
Council of Europe
Restos du Cœur
Servier
ENEDIS
Fnac Darty
SPIE
Savencia

Governed foundation

One structure everyone reads, not each person's filing habits

In Elium, every article has a named owner, a review date and a validation flow – and duplicates get detected before they multiply. Drive gives you folders, and each person files differently. Elium gives knowledge one structure the whole organisation reads the same way.

  • A named owner on every article
  • One canonical answerper question – duplicates detected
  • Review dates and validation flows built in

AI you can stand behind

AI answers grounded in knowledge, not working files

Point Gemini, Copilot, your own agents or Elium's built-in AI at one governed source. Every answer cites the article it came from, and permissions are respected in every response. Gemini on Drive reads drafts and duplicates alike – Elium makes sure what your AI reads is verified and current first.

  • Every answer cites its source article
  • Permissions respected in every AI response
  • Workswith Gemini, Copilot, agent platforms and Elium's own AI

Delivered everywhere

Drive stays where it is. Elium serves every team above it

Drive is great at being Drive – storage, co-authoring, easy sharing. Elium does not replace that. It serves governed answers into Google Workspace, Slack, Teams, ITSM tools, portals and your own apps. One search covers your articles and every file you import.

  • Integrationswith Drive and Google Workspace
  • Served in Slack, Teams, ITSM tools and portals
  • One searchacross articles and imported files

Independent and European

Independent, European – and easy to leave

For many European organisations, where knowledge lives is a procurement question. Elium has been independently owned for over a decade – built and run in Belgium, ISO 27001 certified, GDPR-compliant, hosted in Europe. And your knowledge stays yours: everything exports in open formats through a full API.

  • Independently ownedfor over a decade
  • European hosting, ISO 27001, GDPR
  • Full export in open formats – no lock-in

In packaging and development, we went from over 30,000 documents to about 1,500. That wasn't loss of information – it was removing duplication, archiving obsolete versions, and consolidating. Now people can actually find what they need.

Olivier Cocaud, Knowledge Manager – L'Oréal Operations

Our advisors no longer interrupt supervisors or rely on colleagues who might have outdated information. They go directly to Elium and find the current and correct process.

David Lefevre, Head of Knowledge and Deployment – Fnac Darty

  • Independently owned for over a decade
  • Based in Belgium
  • ISO 27001
  • GDPR

Switching to Elium is easier than you think.

Get a dedicated onboarding team

You're never in it alone. Our specialists design a knowledge structure around your teams, your workflows and your existing content, not a template.

See our deployment services

Migrate with tools and a team

Our tools and team migrate your Google Drive content. We keep the structure worth keeping and help you archive the rest. Most teams are live in four to eight weeks.

How switching works

Get support built for knowledge managers

Always-on customer success, a deep help centre, and training for the people who manage knowledge, not just the people who read it.

Talk to an advisor

And your knowledge stays yours: everything exports in open formats, any time.

FAQ

Questions we hearfrom teams switching from Google Drive

No. Most customers keep Drive for file storage and Docs, Sheets and Slides for editing, and use Elium as the trusted knowledge platform above the files. The two connect through integrations for live previews and file import.
Gemini reads what is in Drive: drafts, duplicates and old versions included. Elium grounds AI on a governed source where every article has an owner, a review date and citations. Same question, more reliable answer.
Elium is built and run in Belgium, hosted in Europe, ISO 27001 certified and GDPR-compliant. Useful when US-default residency is a concern for procurement or compliance. Details in the Trust Center.
Probably yes, if your team is small and Drive's folder model genuinely works for you. Elium tends to land when teams hit the wall – knowledge sprawl, repeat questions, no clear owners, and AI answers you cannot rely on because the files underneath are messy.

Ready to see Elium in your own context?

See it on your own knowledge.

Talk to an advisor about your knowledge challenges: no sales pitch, no feature checklist.