Introduction to Cloud Storage Providers
Today many individuals, as well as organizations, prefer not to store their data in their homes or offices. Most of them opt for cloud storage as it saves money, hassles, physical space, provides superior security and a host of other significant benefits. Cloud storage is predicted to only increase in the future by leading industry experts. Given the many cloud storage providers in the market currently, it becomes confusing as well as a difficult task to choose one that best meets an individual’s or organization’s unique and specific requirements. Below we examine in detail the features, pros, and cons of various cloud storage providers.
Best Cloud Storage Providers
Below are the various cloud storage providers:
1. Dropbox
Ideal for users having limited data. This platform offers a state-of-the-art workspace to store files at a central location. You can access it from any geographical location 24X7. Computers, mobiles as well as tablets can access files in Dropbox.
Features:
- It can be employed by users of any size.
- Permits you to share files with anybody.
- Admin controls make team management a breeze
- Shared data is secured.
Disadvantage:
- Plans start off with a mere 2GB of free data which may be insufficient for many.
Pricing:
- 2GB is offered with no charges. There exist 2 plans for individuals as well as 2 plans for teams. The 2 individuals plans are termed Plus and Professional. In the Plus plan, the user is charged $8.25 a month. In the Professional plan, the user is charged $16.58 a month.
- The 2 team plans are termed Standard and Advanced. In the Standard Plan, the user is charged $12.50 a month. In the Advanced plan, the user is charged $20 a month. The user is offered a free trial for the Advanced, Professional as well as Standard plans. No free trial exists for the Plus plan.
2. Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive is a built-in feature of Windows 10’s File Explorer. To use it you need not download any extra app. Hence it is extremely convenient for Windows 10 users. Microsoft’s Photos app has the option of employing OneDrive in order to sync images across all your respective devices. Recently AutoCAD has been added to OneDrive a move that may please as well as attract AutoCAD users. The Personal Vault feature provides an extra layer of security. An app exists for iOS as well as Android devices. There is also a handy app in the App Store meant for Mac users.
3. Google Drive
Google Drive is one of today’s most powerful cloud storage services. To use it, however, is a bit different from what you might be used to, so here we see the advantages and disadvantages of Google Drive.
Advantages:
- Huge free storage space is offered.
- State-of-the-art productivity suite for collaboration purposes.
- Comes with desktop-to-desktop file syncing functionality
- A plethora of third-party integrations
- Apps designed for different platforms
Disadvantages:
- Everything is stored locally by the consumer desktop utility
- Privacy is a major and relevant concern
- Productivity application fares poorly when benchmarked against the contemporary Microsoft Office.
- Lacks password protection that is much needed for shared files.
Overall Google Drive is a slick, features packed cloud storage provider with the added bonus of huge cloud storage. If you are looking for superior collaboration capabilities along with just storage then this is the right choice.
4. iCloud
The novelty of this platform is that it is the best as well as the most ideal cloud storage provider for Apple aficionados. Moreover, it works great for private users. The cloud storage platform functions on operating systems that include iOS, Mac OS as well as Windows.
Features:
- It claims to fame that it is the prestigious Apple company’s proprietary cloud storage platform.
- Users can collaborate with applications that include Notes, Keynote as well as Pages.
- Resumes each conversation from the pausing time
- It reaches peak performance on changing the phone.
Disadvantages:
- Certain items such as presentations, to-do-lists as well as schedules can be shared only with folks possessing a valid Apple ID.
5. Amazon Drive
It is a fact that Amazon Simple Storage Services works wonderfully well for programmers. Amazon Drive used to fare comparatively poorly earlier. That scenario is no longer the same. The former has sync services for various operating systems including Windows, Android, Mac OS as well as iOS. The drawback is the absence of a Linux client.
The service moves files leveraging block-level file copying techniques. Incidentally, Dropbox also employs this technology. When a particular file is synced just the differences(delta) between the files are sent as well as received. Syncing files are done in lesser time when benchmarked against the contemporary cloud storage providers. An interesting feature on display is taskbar notifications. Thanks to the latter you can monitor file transfers better than before. Taskbar notifications give you the ability to throttle sync speeds at times when you may be busy with a high bandwidth-consuming foreground process.
Presently every member of Amazon Prime is allocated 5GB of storage space for using Amazon Drive. The good news is that members get unlimited photo storage in Prime Photos. Amazons’ annual cloud storage plans begin with a storage space of 100GB for which the user is charged $11.99. Further, 1TB is available at $59.99. The highest package is 30TB storage at $1,799.70.
6. Internxt
Internxt is an open-source cloud storage provider offering end-to-end encrypted file storage. It allows syncing for your files with its flagship product, Internxt Drive.
With Internxt, you can enjoy complete privacy of your files while ensuring that your data is safe because only you have access to the decryption keys needed to unlock your data. As a zero-knowledge company, nobody, not even Internxt, can access your data. As a result, your data is protected from threats such as data breaches, leaks, and hacks.
Internxt Drive and its free product, Internxt Send, allows you to send and share files securely by encrypting them directly on your device before you send them. For additional security and control, Internxt Drive also lets you customize who you want to share files with.
With Internxt Drive, you can also enjoy the many features of its private cloud storage, including Two-Factor Authentication, file uploads up to 20GB, and access to your files on iOS, Windows, and Linux. You can get started with Internxt and get up to 10GB for free, or choose from monthly, annual, or lifetime plans.
7. Box
This cloud storage provider has a plethora of business-oriented features. It boasts of expanded privacy controls too. The solution’s drawback is the upload limit. The former offers 10GB free of cost. It also offers a 14-day free trial for each package. The Starter plan costs $5 a user per month. The Business Plus plan costs $25 a user per month. This plan consists of unlimited storage and no limit on the maximum number of users. The file upload limit is 5GB for the Business Plus plan.
Conclusion
To select the right cloud storage provider. you need to be crystal clear about your requirements. Do your homework before investing in the services of any particular cloud storage provider. Do research, rigorously test the services on the free trial as well as ask previous users for advice.
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