Online Storage Reviews & Comparisons 2014

With ever growing speed of internet, it is nowadays easy to store data online and access them securely. The online data storage services make this even easier with their option to access from multiple platforms. Below are some leading online data storage services compared.

Showing 1 to 9 of 9 results « Previous | Next »
Rank	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Image
Product Name	MyPCBackup	Mozy	Dropbox	SugarSync	LiveDrive	Box.com	eGnyte	Carbonite	iDrive
Website	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit	Visit
Pricing	US$ 9.95	US$ 5.99	US$ 9.99	US$ 7.49	US$ 6	US$ 5	US$ 8	US$ 5	US$ 4.10
Review	View	View	View	View	View	View	View	View	View
Online Storage Features
Storage	Unlimited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	Varies	Limited	Unlimited	Limited
Data Security	Yes	Yes	Many	Many	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
File Versioning	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	30	Varies	No	Limited	Yes
Compatibility	All	Yes	All	All	Any	5	Limited	Yes	Limited
Sync Computers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full PC Restore	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Limited	Yes
File Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Supported Docs	All	All	All	Any	All	All	All	All	All
Backup Options	Many	Yes	Automated	Limited	Limited	Limited	Yes	Yes	Limited
Support	2	3	Tickets	2	2	Tickets	2	2	3
Special Features	Many	Many	Many	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sharing Options	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Advanced	None	None	Advanced

Guide To Online Storage Services

There was a time when backing up your files meant laboriously sitting with an external hard drive or CD ROM (floppy disk if you want to go far enough back) and trying to figure out what files have already been backed up, which have been modified and so on. That has all changed with the introduction of cloud services and online storage facilities.

Essentially these services install a program on your computer, give you access to online storage and then sync your files between the two, usually automatically. So, if you have a file called Diary.doc on your laptop, it will be the same file on your online storage system and can be accessed via any other device that you choose to log on with – another computer, a smartphone or a tablet, for example. Indeed, if you modify that file on your laptop it will automatically update on your online storage. Cloud storage is an innovative concept that has really changed the way in which we store files and have access to them.

What Should You Look For With Cloud Storage Services?

Space is obviously a critical factor. Most storage services offer ‘freemium’ plans which means they have both free and paid options. The free options generally only include a few gigabytes of space but enough to backup and store important files & documents, whereas the paid services are designed for heavier use. Some services offer unlimited uploading space on the paid plans while others cap it usually in the region of 100 – 250 GBs of space.

Be Careful About File Security

Your documents are going to be hosted on an external server – some of which can contain personal information. The good news is that most services offer a high level security encryption along the same lines as the ones used by banks and financial institutions, although some have had security breaches in the past and certain services have higher levels of security than others. Making sure your documents are completely safe is of paramount importance when choosing an online storage service.

Mobile Access?

Our phones have evolved into essentially what are mini computers and, as such, we expect to do the same tasks on them as we would our laptop or PC at home. Most of the cloud storage companies now offer mobile apps for their software. This means you can have full access to your files in terms of viewing and editing them on your phone, and it is a great way of storing documents for use when you only have your phone handy; for example, saving a flight e-ticket on your cloud service, then presenting it at the airport on your smartphone.

Other Considerations

Does the cloud storage services automatically sync your files? When you edit a file, a word document perhaps, will this change be automatically updated on your cloud service or is it something you need to do yourself? How memory heavy is the software? Will be just run seamlessly in the background or will it take up a lot of CPU cycles?

These are all things that should be considered when it comes to looking for an online storage solution.

How To Decide

That being said, there are many different companies on the market at the minute that offer these services all with varying degrees of features and price plans. Finding one with a good amount of storage space and cost is not that difficult however it is often the smaller features and differences that can make or break the service and it is these elements that need to be taken into consideration.