Is Cloud Storage Right for You? If So, Which One?

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Are you already using cloud-storage? If so, how do you know you're using the right one? Did you select the one you're using simply because it had some relationship to your other software or cloud services?

For example, did you select OneDrive because you already used Microsoft Office 365? How about Google Drive? Did you pick it because you already used Gmail? Maybe you selected Dropbox because it has been around a long time? Or, you heard SugarSync was the way to go because it worked so smoothly?

I set out to do a little detective work concerning these four cloud storage alternatives. Now, I didn't do this in the last two or three days. I took a few months to make the comparisons, and some of the features I evaluated may have changed since I did my review (so don't blame me if the tables are not up to the second). 

I also won't say I personally tested each of these features, because some of them are pretty complex and didn't really apply. But I did rely on the information I could obtain from the developers' websites and/or other independent reviewers whom I trust (like my brother).

Since every company in the cloud storage business claims to be "the most secure," while at the same time claiming to be "the most accessible," let's look at some security and accessibility issues, because in my mind, I ask, "How can they be both?"

Of course, we don't acquire cloud storage only for the purpose of secure storage or accessibility, we use cloud storage for the ability to sync data and folders, connect to our data from any device, and for ease of use when it comes to our cloud resource looking like just another storage resource on our computers and mobile devices. 

So, let's examine some of the important service offerings these four cloud providers offer:

We also use cloud storage for convenience, especially when working with others or with some of our most important business tools. This means the ability to have multiple file versions available and to recover file versions deleted. 

In my case, I also needed to know if the solution worked with Microsoft Outlook. (I know, I'll now have to listen to those of you who say, "I use Gmail or some other mail service," but the vast majority of businesses use MS-Outlook for mail regardless of their mail service/server.)

Conclusion

I'm certain that some of you will use the graphics contained herein to justify the decisions you've already made concerning the cloud-based storage solution you've chosen. Others will look at this data and say, "I wish I had known that prior to my adopting solution 'X'." 

But some of you will wonder if I don't provide some sort of analytics, "Why didn't Murph give us some sort of ranking overall?"

So, based upon the relatively crude scoring I developed, without further explanation, I'll simply say:

4th Place – SugarSync

3rd Place – Dropbox

2nd Place – Google Drive

1st Place – OneDrive

And no, I don't intend to tell you which one I use or used before I did my research.