Cloud storage and other cloud-based services have become increasingly popular in the last few years and are used by many thousands of businesses in the UK and across the globe. It is not just businesses that use cloud storage services. There are many personal benefits, such as photo storage, that cloud storage services offer to the individual.
Cloud storage services solve many of the storage and privacy issues that plague modern businesses today. With more people working remotely than ever before, cloud services are set to serve an even greater purpose. As popular, affordable and beneficial as cloud storage is, there are still plenty of businesses that do not make use of them. Don’t let this be you! Ensure that you keep up with the competition by making use of the best cloud storage provider options available to you.
What is a cloud storage service?
Many services fall under cloud storage services, including file hosting, online back-up, online data storage, etc. Cloud backup services are essentially an alternative to the traditional forms of data storage, such as hard copies and hard drives. Hardware and paper copies can easily be lost or destroyed, while cloud storage services ensure that your data is always available to you. Because of modern technological advances, cloud storage enables businesses to store far more data than the average hard drive would be capable of storing.
One of the most popular systems of cloud storage that most web users are likely to have had some experience with is Google Drive.
How does cloud storage work?
Before you begin to understand cloud storage, you need to understand the cloud. The cloud is a secure online resource and storage facility, which can be accessed remotely through certain authentication steps. The cloud stores all of your business’s data and files so that they are not at risk of being destroyed in hardware malfunctions or in the case of theft, or even a natural disaster. You should even be able to restore deleted files or earlier versions of digital files.
Cloud storage allows you to grant the access of certain files to specific people within the business, ensuring that only authorised personnel can access the data on the cloud or via cloud storage apps. Files can usually be accessed through your browser or a mobile app and should be available across all your devices.
What cloud storage should I use for my business?
When choosing cloud storage space options for your business, you have many choices available. So how do you choose? We’ve comprised a list of some of the very best cloud storage options available.
IDrive
IDrive has been around from the beginning and has garnered a very positive reputation over the years. They offer cloud storage support for unlimited devices, and their subscription fee definitely offers value for money. If you want to go for a cloud storage service that has been in the game since the beginning and provides an incredible file versioning system, IDrive is your go-to service provider.
IDrive has a subscription option called IDrive Business, which offers unlimited users, priority support, and secure server backup. IDrive really understands the cloud storage needs of businesses, both small and large. In addition to IDrive Business, they also offer IDrive Team and IDrive Personal, IDrive Mini and a free Basic version with 10GB of storage, so there is really a solution for every cloud storage need. Other cloud storage services can be backed up to IDrive, including Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.
Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage
This solution is obviously geared towards those who use Microsoft’s operating system on all of their devices. If you’re committed to using Microsoft for the foreseeable future as this cloud storage facility could be a fantastic option for you to use. OneDrive works in perfect cohesion with Windows 11.
It is simple and straightforward, and files can be edited without having to download them. OneDrive is available through various Microsoft 365 plans, with the most basic, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, available at £4.60 per month. A standalone OneDrive for business plan is available for £3.80 a month and offers 2TB of cloud storage.
While this isn’t much storage, especially for the needs of the average business, it is relatively affordable to upgrade to the premium tier that offers 100GB. It’s possible to share files with others even if they aren’t OneDrive users themselves.
pCloud Storage
Based in Switzerland, pCloud offers a unique solution in that a once-off payment will allow you access to their services for a lifetime! They offer a personal cloud storage solution with a user-friendly interface, making it easy for secure file sharing and collaborations. Other benefits include an unlimited upload amount as well as a choice of which continent you want your data to be stored. They’ve also introduced family plan options too.
The Premium 500 option provides 500GB of storage for life for a one-off payment of £199 or you can upgrade to 2 TB of storage for £399. A 10 TB lifetime option cost a on-time payment of £1,190.
Google Drive
Google Drive is probably one of the most popular and widely-used cloud storage systems currently available. It is a great option for those using Google Workspace, which is most web users these days. You have 15GB of storage that you can use for free. With a variety of additional features available, Google Drive is the obvious choice for Android users. The app makes accessing files from your phone simple and easy, and access can be granted to different parties at the click of a button. The only possible downside is that the web interface is not as easy to use as other cloud storage solutions.
If you need to upgrade to the 2TB tier, the fee is a standard £11.80 per month, when committing for a year and offers more exciting features to the user, including access to AI features, video meetings and recordings, and eSignatures for Docs and PDFs.
What’s happening in cloud storage?
Cloud storage and cloud computing technology are constantly adapting to offer better solutions to the end-user – you. There are many cloud storage trends on the horizon, including extensive AI, multi-cloud and joint cloud offerings, the option to go serverless, and automated services. In addition to this, there is a very real need for businesses to make use of the enhanced security and anti-hacking systems to ensure that data is kept safe from ever-growing new threats.
While you may be looking for the best free cloud storage options available, or even unlimited storage, the reality is most business needs will be for a paid package that provides sufficient storage space, online backup and disaster recovery, reliable file syncing, and excellent security features to ensure data security.
It’s definitely expected that we’ll see more and more cloud storage service providers becoming available, and the increase in competition and availability should bring down the expense of secure storage considerably. In general, cloud storage is definitely becoming more mainstream and used by a wider range of business users. Are you ready to make the leap onto the cloud?
