Cloud storage providers supply companies and individuals with the ability to store documents online. With cloud storage, customers only pay for the storage space they actually use. One perk of using cloud storage is that there is no limit on how much storage space an individual or a business has access to. It saves the hassle of having to upgrade to a bigger storage plan and makes it easier for customers to have access to their files in storage, because they can access the files anywhere there is an Internet connection. Cloud storage means that physical storage devices are no longer necessary.
The newest cloud storage provider on the market is Google.
Google Cloud Storage gives users the ability to upload and store their files in Google Docs. Files up to 250MB can be uploaded to Google and the user will have access to 1GB of free storage for files that are they have not converted to a Google Doc format. This eliminates the need for users to email large files to themselves, which can be time consuming. Google users can buy more storage at the cost of 25 cents per GB a year.
Microsoft Cloud Storage is a revamped version of SkyDrive Cloud Storage. Microsoft Cloud provides more speed than its predecessor. It now is run by HTML 5, which is supported by most major browsers. In addition to being faster, Microsoft Cloud is also easier to use and displays photographs in better quality than it did before. Tasks such as looking at photo albums and simply opening files can be done in milliseconds. Experts say that future versions of Microsoft Cloud will be allow users to perform many more tasks faster than ever before. When it was known as SkyDrive, Microsoft Cloud relied on Silverlight, a a free web-browser plug-in. The revamped version does not rely on Silverlight.
Free cloud storage is also available. There are five free cloud storage providers that stand out from the others. Number one is Sugar Sync, which allows users to sync files and emails between multiple computers. One of the major advantages of Sugar Sync is that users can backup any files they have on their computer. Users can also edit files on the Internet and stream music from the Internet. Sugar Sync supports Linux, MAC OSX, and Windows XP, Vista, and 7. The number two choice is Dropbox. Some of the advantages of Dropbox are being able to automatically sync files on the Internet and across several computers simultaneously. The number three choice is Box.net, which only offers the user 1GB of storage, but it can be integrated with Google. Box.net also has an iPhone app. The number four choice is Memopal, which offers its users 3GB of storage space. Additional storage space can be bought for $50 for 200GB. The number five choice is Windows SkyDrive.
Cloud file storage is also an available option, which provides users with online storage for 15 cents per GB to start. CDN delivery of stored files is available to users at a cost of 18 cents per GB. Cloud storage allows users to choose if they want to keep stored files private or public. Cloud storage was built using OpenStack, which is an open source software program.
Cloud based storage allows users to send information to a storage provider who will manage it. The user gets to decide what information they want stored, encrypt their own data, and send it to the storage provider's website. The storage provider monitors the information the user sends them, and ensures the user can access the information at anytime. More and more companies are using everyday.
Cloud storage providers are an affordable and easy way to be able to access and share documents anytime, anywhere, as long as an Internet connection is available. They are revolutionizing the business world in ways that were never possible before.
