After months, maybe even years to some, of waiting, Google Drive is finally upon us. We already went over the basics of the service and even its potential relevance in search results, but the most interesting prospect of Google Drive is its SDK and how it works into the app ecosystem.

Google Drive is already off to a great start today with 18 apps that support the new cloud storage platform. These aren’t Google apps either. The company lined up multiple partners to have Google Drive apps ready one day one to display the versatility of the platform.

This isn’t some test run to see how Drive works with apps either. The Google Drive SDK is available to everyone right now. It’s an open platform and with 10GB of free storage available to everyone, people are going to get some good use out of it.

A lot of the apps that support Google Drive right now are the kind of things you would expect including design and document sharing apps. Imaging being able to edit video or pictures all from within the cloud. That’s the idea behind Google Drive. It’s similar to the Adobe Creative Cloud that’s launching with CS6 that allows users to take advantage of all of the software within the CS6 line of products from within the cloud. Sounds pretty awesome, but Google has the advantage of 10GB free storage and free apps on the Chrome Web store that can replicate most of the functions of popular programs like Photoshop.

If the 18 launch apps and the SDK already being made available didn’t tip you off, Google wants people to use Drive. This is a major new service for them and they want developers to make the most of it. That’s why the developer documentation is available right now so you can start building. Google will also be hosting a Hangout this Thursday at 10:30 a.m. PDT/1:30 p.m. EST to answer any questions you might have.

Google Drive is a bold new step for the company. Apps and the SDK are both positive first signs that Google Drive will be a great tool for developers as well.