The days of hard drives and other physical storage options are long gone. There has been a wide range of cloud storage options, that you can use to store, your data for some time now. We, therefore, explain to you what is essential for good cloud storage and compare four providers with each other.
Physical storage options are impractical. Because you always have to know where they are and connect to your device to save your data. On the other hand, Cloud storage works differently: Your data is available via the Internet from anywhere and from any device.
So that you can choose good cloud storage, we explain below which factors you should pay attention to when making your selection.
Cloud Storage Provider: Which Cloud Provider Is Right For Me?
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be any significant differences between the various cloud providers. That is why most of them decide which provider offers the best price. Many other factors make up good cloud storage.
- Ease Of Use: Using cloud storage quickly and efficiently is an essential factor. This includes, for example, that you can easily upload your data from all devices. Or, if you share the cloud storage with other people, this shared application should be intuitive to use. Most providers offer tailor-made applications for different areas.
- Security: For most of them, the security factor is significant. The job of a suitable cloud provider is to protect all files and user data as well as possible. To achieve this, modern data centers and good firewall and backup strategies are necessary and the encryption of the stored data and the data transfer.
- Server Location: If data protection is essential to you, you should also pay attention to the server location of the cloud provider: At best, this is in Germany or an EU country so that your sensitive data is stored in compliance with data protection regulations.
- Cost: Of course, the price still plays an important role. As a rule, the providers offer you a selection of different subscription models, which differ mainly in terms of storage volume and representations of the other range of functions. Therefore, it is best to know how much storage space you will need in advance.
- Reliability: Since you no longer have to rely on a physical device, the reliability of the online application is even more critical. So it should be ensured that you can access your data from anywhere and from any device if necessary.
- Support: If you have questions about your account or need to solve problems, good help is essential. That means: Can the license be reached by phone? When can you ask your questions? In which language is the support available?
Cloud Storage In Comparison
So that you get a better impression of which cloud storage is good, we will introduce you to four different providers below.
IONOS HI Drive
With IONOS HI Drive, you can access all your data from any device. Save your private data and your work files in the cloud, archive projects that have already been completed or free up space on your smartphone. It doesn’t matter whether it’s text, photos or videos – everything has its place at HI Drive, stored in modern data centers.
Working in decentralized teams is particularly possible with HI Drive. For each team member, you can create individual, password-protected accounts, share projects internally or externally with just one link and manage read and write rights for shared data. The cheapest tariff starts at less than one euro and gives you 1,000 GB of storage space.
Google Drive
The Google Drive cloud storage is part of the Google family. An active Google account is therefore required for use. Other Google services are connected directly to the cloud thanks to corresponding interfaces. You get free access to 15 GB of storage space to get started. If you need more, you can always take out a paid subscription.
You can upload or download data with one click. It can also be linked to hundreds of third-party apps. Google Drive automatically synchronizes your saved data on all devices you want to access the cloud.
Dropbox
Dropbox is one of the most popular cloud storage providers. The unique thing about Dropbox is: The memory can be expanded through various actions. This turns the free version’s standard 2 GB storage space up to 20 GB. If you need more capacity, you can also choose the right solution from paid plans.
Your files are encrypted by Dropbox both during transmission (128-bit TLS) and on the server (256-bit AES). However, the data is stored on servers worldwide, which can lead to security and data protection problems.
Tresorit
The Tresorit cloud storage lives up to its name: thanks to end-to-end encryption, your data is encrypted and stored in the Tresorit cloud before it is transferred. Thanks to the encryption and password-protected file and folder links, file sharing is more secure than almost any other provider.
The certified data centers (ISO-27001) used by Tresorit are located in Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Therefore, compliance with European and German data protection guidelines is not a problem.
Conclusion: Cloud Storage As A Practical Aid
You can see that cloud storage can be helpful for you both privately and for business purposes. When deciding for or against a provider, it primarily depends on how much storage you need. Then you can determine if you want to choose a paid subscription or a free provider.
ALSO READ: What Is Data Scraping – And Why Is It So Dangerous?
