Living in today’s world, at one point or the other, one must have come across the word – cloud storage. One of the major buzzwords in the vast world of computing is “The Cloud.”Even though the name is not uncommon, in practicality, a good chunk of the population does not know what it means or does.
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So, what exactly is a Cloud Storage Service?
For starters, the word cloud exists in far-flung data centers, which one can access via the internet. It is a compilation of networked computer hardware that works in sync to provide many aspects of computing in the form of online services. One should understand that the Cloud is an intangible entity that one cannot physically touch or see, but yet you can control it remotely via web interfaces.
Even though the concept of Cloud remains cloudy for most of the people, chances are pretty high that you’ve already used it without knowing much about it at the time. Most of the media sharing services that one uses in daily life, like YouTube or Instagram, all use the Cloud. Even the most basic webmail clients like Gmail or Hotmail, all the banking apps you’ve come across, all use the Cloud for its daily functioning.
As the world is progressing, the demand for cost-effective data storage and data protection is overgrowing in multiple user groups, including small, medium, and large enterprises. The use of cloud storage is likely to increase due to faster development, scalability, and flexibility.
It is found that most cloud storage companies face a series of barriers, since not all business services are compatible with the Cloud, and are due to strict government rules and regulations with the rising fear of supplier coverage.
Despite those hindrances, it is estimated by 2022, more than 72% of the global organizations will migrate from local data centers to the so-called Cloud.
Furthermore, several industry verticals such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunication and IT, the media and entertainment industry are all adopting cloud services at a rapid pace, due to low cost of data storage and maintenance. Cloud gaming services are also growing on an exponential level. Reduced investment cost in banking, insurance, and capital markets is expected to drive the demand for cloud service in the coming years
Observing the multitude of cloud storage providers out there today, one has to wisely choose a service that provides the maximum amount of low-cost storage while keeping your data safe.
Getting the best cloud storage is slightly tricky as there is an ongoing fluctuation with both the consumers and businesses continuing the historical trend of digital transformation.
The Evaluation Methodology Gist For The Best Cloud Storage Service
Comparing key metrics and factors (storage, speed, and security)
Looking for essential cloud storage features (syncing and sharing)
Pricing packages and restrictions.
Here are the best cloud storage services based on our head to head comparison-
1. IDrive- The best reliable cloud storage solution right now
Key features-
- It is fast and easy to use
- Strong security
- Physical backup if needed
- No two-factor authentication required.
When it comes to cloud storage services, if your main priority has a reliable online backing up system in place, then this is a strong contender. It can continuously sync all your files, even the ones on network drives. It also provides a potentially life-saving free backup service called to drive to express. For whatever strange reason you lose all your files, it’ll send you an actual hard drive that contains everything that you’ve backed up.
Another important feature is if you accidentally delete an important file, you can find it again as the IDrive retains all previous versions of backed up data for at least 30 days before deleting it permanently.
Another very cool feature found within the IDrive is the facial recognition feature, which allows you to organize your photos, and of course, there’s the option of sharing your files through email, Facebook, or even Twitter.
2. OneDrive- The best for business and large scale projects
Key Features-
- Very easy to use
- Scalability
- Well trained support
- Availability of multimedia streaming.
OneDrive is a file hosting service created by Microsoft and is possibly one of the best storage providers out there for businesses for collaboration tools and app integrations. It has comprehensive sharing tools, advanced searching features, extreme security measures, block-level sync, and versioning, which all adds more value to cloud storage service OneDrive.
Integrated with Windows 10, it can handle all the common types of files like documents, music, photos, and videos and does an impressive job by displaying a variety of pictures and videos via a web interface.
3. pCloud- Best security, media features with a term value.
Key Features-
- Easy across the board
- Brilliant multimedia streaming
- Upto 2TB scalability for personal plans
- Multilingual support via email
The great thing about pCloud is its affordable price while offering a wide range of options with a generous storage limit. It has exceptional upload speed and security.
It has a wide range of other features like automatic camera roll, a comprehensive link sharing option, which all makes it one of the best cloud storage services of 2020.
4. DROPBOX- The best data storage giant that caters to beginners
Key Features-
- Solid scalability
- Faster support for paid plans
- Existence of multimedia streaming
- Decent ease of use.
Dropbox is one of the most recognizable cloud storage providers out there in today’s world. Getting a free dropbox account gives you one of the fastest block sync algorithms, which makes it very easy to use. With slightly higher costs and a poor track record with security taking away its value, it remains to be on the top of the list of cloud storage services.
In conclusion, it is difficult to comprehend the best cloud storage service as the trends keep paramount. But the cloud storage service is likely to remain accessible and rapidly grow in usage and numbers.
I really like all the points you have made.
Thanks