Today, small businesses need access to their data on the move without maintaining storage or hardware. As a result, cloud storage's popularity is growing due to its efficiency.
Data Storage Options
Before cloud computing, individuals stored their data on hard drives and memory cards. It is possible to damage or lose computers or mobile phones, and some data may need to be accessed physically. In dedicated data centers, businesses store their data on large-sized servers. Using the Internet or while on the go may require logging into the corporate network.
Individual devices and corporate servers require dedicated support and maintenance, and data security remains challenging.
What is cloud storage?
Cloud service providers or hosting companies offer clients a fixed-size server space for storing data. The client owns the stored data, but the hosting company owns and maintains the hardware. As designated by the clients, the cloud host provides non-stop access to client data. In addition, the cloud hosting company can configure one or more servers in their data centers to store data.
Despite dating back to the 1960s, this concept has gained popularity recently due to improved Internet infrastructure enabling faster access to remotely-hosted data. As a result, cloud hosting is rapidly gaining popularity among businesses since it eliminates local server maintenance hassles, associated costs, and specific security concerns. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT) are two big names in the cloud hosting market, and Intel is reportedly investing heavily in supporting technologies. This article lists the top eight cloud service providers. Prices are listed alphabetically at the time of publication.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) provides a wide range of cloud hosting services. The following plans are available: Pay as you go, Pay less when you reserve, Pay even less per unit as AWS grows, and Custom pricing. With "pay as you go," you only pay for the resources you use without committing to long-term contracts. You can get discounts and savings later on by investing in reserved capacity. One can pay even less per unit by using more storage space and transferring more data. Using the "Pay even less as AWS grows" plan, one can receive benefits when AWS optimizations reduce operational costs. As you might expect, custom pricing is for clients who need solutions tailored to their needs. Its USP lies in computation and dedicated application services, including website hosting, mobile data backup, business app hosting, and gaming. Pricing details vary widely across multiple product offerings, and one can start with AWS free tier to get a firsthand experience of services and expected costs.
Amber Cloud Amber X and AmberPRO Personal Cloud are storage devices that allow users to store all their data privately at home or the Office and access it from anywhere. Through the friendly Amber iX mobile app, you can set up the device, backup your camera roll, browse your photos, stream and cast your videos, access and even share your files and folders. Each Amber device maintains its sovereign data domain in the Amber Hybrid Cloud by controlling its access control permission list. AmberCloud identifies the user who attempts to make a data access request. Each Amber device still grants or rejects access to the data using its most up-to-date access control permission list stored on the Amber device. LatticeWork designed the Amber Hybrid Cloud to have the Amber device rely on little trust in the AmberCloud, even though it created both sides of the system.
The Dropbox for business cloud-hosting solution claims to serve more than 300,000 teams. Dropbox's esteemed clients include Expedia, Under Armour, Spotify, and National Geographic Channel. With Dropbox, you can share files even if you don't have an account, in addition to the cross-platform sharing, storage, sync, backup, and seamless integration features. For individuals, Dropbox's basic plan offers 2GB of storage and Microsoft 365 integration, allowing them to edit files directly through the program. For individuals, the Plus plan offers 2TB of free storage.6 For businesses, the Standard plan offers 5TB, with a fee of $15 per user per month. Furthermore, it provides complete audit records of user activities, sharing, and controls. Business users get priority dedicated support.
In addition to an admin control panel, network drives, permissions and access management, geo-redundant storage, file versioning, and hourly backups, JustCloud offers over 50 features. For $29.95 per month, you get 100GB of storage for five computers, while for $59.95 per month, you get 500GB of storage for twenty computers. You can also get a custom plan if you've got more essential backup requirements.
OneDrive is a cloud hosting service offered by the tech giant Microsoft. In addition to 5 GB of free storage, higher capacities such as 100GB, 1TB, and 6TB cost $1.99, $6.99, and $9.99 per month, respectively.10 Business plans begin at 1TB per user for $5 per month with a free trial. The key features of OneDrive are cross-platform syncing and powerful searching. As well as supporting many third-party apps to work seamlessly with cloud data, it has downloadable software to keep remote and local data in sync. You can also integrate your on-premises solutions with Microsoft's cloud services.
With OpenDrive, you can manage data, projects, workflows, and users under its business plan. Project management offers an online Office suite that supports over 17 file types for direct editing, while data management offers data storage, synchronization, and backup. Windows, Mac, and Android desktop software and apps are available. With OpenDrive, you get 5GB of free storage with limits on file size and access speed. Professional plans start at $29.95 per month, offering unlimited storage, file size, and access speed. Compared to the total personal project, the unlimited business plan allows unlimited users (at an additional cost).
Regarding your data, SpiderOak touts its "zero knowledge" policy. Edward Snowden, a computer analyst and whistleblower has praised SpiderOak13. Its selling points include complete privacy, total control for clients, and no knowledge of hosts. The service starts at $6 per month for 150GB of data and goes up to 5TB.14 For advanced business needs, such as active directory integration, SpiderOak offers Enterprise hosted and Enterprise on Premise plans. For businesses holding sensitive data and needing advanced system configuration and services, SpiderOak is a good fit.
Cloud host Syncplicity is a good choice for businesses with sensitive data to which they wish to control and limit access. There are robust reporting features to monitor content usage, and data is accessible across devices on multiple platforms. Administrators can implement policies and controls for accessing data. It allows you to group users and apply different rules to them. Additionally, it facilitates restrictions based on device location. Personal plans offer 10GB of storage for free; small business plans start at $60 per user; enterprise plans require at least 25 users. All paid plans have a 30-day free trial period.
The Bottom Line
Many restrictions are often attached to "free offers" in technology. Cloud storage is limited in size and type, bandwidth utilization, platforms (Windows or Linux), backup availability, and technical support. Individual users may be okay with this, but small businesses must pay for a service that meets their needs. Before entrusting your business data to any provider, you'll want to research.
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