Cloud storage services are getting popular these days for an individual or a business firm. Since the concept is new but very reliable in storing any information rather than on your hard drives or other storage devices. The best part of this cloud storage is it is safe and easily accessible from anywhere. The only thing requires is the Internet connection on your device and you can download documents and files easily without any hassle. In this article, you will know about the best cloud service providers which are safe and easy to use.
What is Cloud Storage?
If you want to understand in simple terms the cloud storage is basically “virtual storage“. It is just like the storage device on your smartphones, laptops or desktops. The best part of this storage is that it does not corrupt easily. The cloud storage can be used for personal as well as for business purposes. For storing such a large amount of data a large server field is required.
Why should I use cloud storage services?
There are many features which come in handy when you use cloud storage services. Some of them are as follows:
- Firstly, whenever you need to download or share the documents, pics or videos from your laptop or desktop. It becomes hectic as first, you search for the file and then share the file. But not cloud just share the link or download the file which is faster and convenient. Also if you are at any corner of the world and have the internet on your device then you can send any file.
- Secondly, free from taking the devices with you all the time. Cloud storage comes in handy if your device is connected to the cloud services. For example, if your laptop is connected to the cloud then all the data in real-time uploads to the cloud. In any case, if you want a document from your laptop and in the meantime laptop is not in your hand. What would you do? In this case, simply you can log in your cloud storage through your smartphone find the document and download on your current device. Hence this process is convenient for the user.
- Thirdly, It is safe and secure more than your device. Any malware or malicious software or document can corrupt your device or your information can be stolen. But in the case of cloud services, it happens rarely.
- Fourth, In any case, if your device corrupts then all the data of your system is gone. In that time cloud services comes in handy if you upload your data on the cloud then you can retrieve all the data which gets corrupted.
These are some basic reasons why you should use cloud services.
Is Cloud storage services safe or not?
The answer is definitely yes the cloud storage service is safe and secure. When you upload data on your cloud then the data is converted to 256-bit encryption which is really hard to break. Other than that the service providers use different security methods so that no can access your drive easily. The security may be in the form of two-factor authentication, high-security question or it may be a one-time password-based which is valid for a few seconds. With these kinds of securities, it is impossible for a hacker to hack into someone cloud storage and steal any information.
There are a few things which you need to consider before uploading any file, documents and images on the Cloud.
- Firstly, you need to ensure that the file extension should be correct otherwise do not upload it may a malware or malicious file.
- Secondly, do not share your username or password or remember it on the browser or any place in the form of notes.
With these two things on your mind, you will be safe from ransomware or malware. Hence it is safe to use Cloud with any problem.
Different Cloud Storage Services Provider?
There are a ton of Cloud Storage Services provider in the market and some of them are free of cost. But if you are considering certain parameters while selecting the Cloud Service Providers. These parameters are Security, Privacy, Ease of access, Storage, Cost and others. If you are an individual or a business person these parameters come into your mind. According to these are parameters there are five best cloud storage service providers you need to know about. Some of the names you be familiar with them. The best seven cloud storage service providers are as follows:
- IDrive
- Google Drive
- Apple iCloud
- Microsoft One Drive
- Dropbox
- Amazon Cloud Drive
- pCloud
1. IDrive Cloud Storage
IDrive is one of the most popular Cloud storage platform available for both Business and Personal use. Also, the price is very reasonable and the world-class data security of your data is provided with the IDrive. One of the best parts is protection against the ransomware which are the malicious software harmful to the devices. If you are thinking about using it for the personal use then the features of the IDrive is as follows:
- Unlimited backup of different devices using a single account. Whether you are using PC, Mac, Ipad, iPhone or Android phone. Also, backup of the other drives can be done easily in the IDrive. Hence it allows multiple devices support.
- The data will sink real-time from your device into the cloud. No matter how many you add or remove anything from your device all the data will sink accordingly.
- If you want your data in the physical storage then IDrive can provide it you in the time period of one week.
- IDrive provides sector-level backup means all the data from your hard drive will be present at the cloud. In any case of a ransomware attack, you can retrieve all of your data and settings to the initial point before the attack.
- Access your data from any devices which are connected to the IDrive such as PC, Mac, IOS and Android.
- In the case of accidental delete of file, you can retrieve it from the Trash within a period of 30 days. After 30 days it will automatically delete and you will unable to recover.
- If you want to delete your data from IDrive then the only thing is to is Archive Cleanup. It will match the data with your device and clean up the data which is not present on your device.
- The transfer and storing of the file are done in 256 bit AES Encryption key and this key is not stored over the servers.
- IDrive backs up the new file automatically in the real-time.
Business Features
If you are buying it for the business purpose then the features that will be provided to you are as follows:
- Dashboard through which a person can monitor his data and create new storage space with this feature.
- Online backup of the huge databases like VMware, MS Exchange Server, MS SQL, Office 365 Mail Box and Others.
- Get free Physical data transfers three times in a year with IDrive express.
- The IDrive Thin Client application can run on the background so that more and more data can upload in real-time via the web.
- May sub-accounts can be managed and monitor by using a single administrator console.
- For the Linux machines, the backup can be done by using the IDrive script Packages.
IDrive Pricing For Personal And Business Use
- If you opt for the basic then it is free of cost and the cloud storage you will get is up to 5GB. Other than you will be charged accordingly. Here is the list of for personal as well as for business purposes.
2. Google Drive Cloud Storage
Everyone knows about Google which is the most widely used search engine for any information. Google also provides the cloud storage services known as the google one where you can store all your data hassle-free with google security. It provides 15 GB of cloud storage free for personal use. In comparison to other which provides less cloud storage such as IDrive, iCloud and others. The features of the google one are top-notch counting from security, data protection, data privacy and much more. Here are some astonishing features of the google drive.
- You can upload your device data on the google one i.e. documents, music, videos, applications and much more.
- The quality will remain as the as you uploaded on the drive and it is easily shareable to anyone.
- Back up your data with the help of google one app which is important to you. Contacts, photos, videos and other data can be easily back up.
- With state of art industry-leading security, the data is fully secure on the google drive. Different safety parameters are there to ensure that user data remains safe.
- If you want any type of assistance or support from the experts regarding any google product they are there for your help. With expertise and fluency, you can easily get the solutions to the problems.
- Benefits such as google play credits can be earn by using Google products.
- Add your family members and allow them to use space in your drive in the same plan. The number of members that can be added to your plan is five. This is the best and unique feature of the google drive.
Google Drive Pricing
- Up to 15 GB, the cloud storage is free but after that, charges will be taken according to the plan you’ll be purchase. Here is the price list.
3. iCloud(Apple Product) Cloud Storage
All of you are well aware of Apple products and their services. One of their product is the iCloud where you can store your documents, video, pics and other data. The Apple iCloud provides 5GB free cloud storage for all the users. If you want your storage space higher than 5GB then you have pay either monthly or annually. In order to get iCloud services, you should have an Apple ID through which you can log in the iCloud system and upload the files. Here are some awesome features of the iCloud which makes it different from other cloud storage services.
- If you are using the iCloud services all of your data will be there for the lifetime. This means whenever you go and check the data you uploaded several years ago it will remain the same as it is.
- Share the pictures and documents with your friends to recall your old memories of a trip. The only thing you have to do is simply choose who can see the photo.
- If you are having any space issue on your device. In this case, the larger file will automatically upload to your iCloud storage hence no problem of getting device storage full.
- Another cool feature is that while working on a MAC if you change the file or folder name then, in that case, the same file or folder name will change in the iCloud.
- Also, you can share the file with ease with your friends and family members by sending a private link. You can also control whether the receiver can view the file, share or edit.
- The two-factor authentication adds another layer of security on your device. This means the iCloud can be accessed through the trusted device like Mac, Ipad or iPhone.
- It automatically backup your data and when you move to any new apple device you can log in and secure all the previous data from the old device.
- Up to 5 family members can add in your iCloud and you can distribute the storage space according to their needs.
iCloud Pricing
4. Microsoft One Drive Cloud Storage
Microsoft is also the lead competitor in providing cloud-based services. It provides cloud storage services for an individual as well as for business leads. The Microsoft one drive gives 5 GB of Cloud storage free of cost. Personal can upload any documents, videos, Pictures and Softwares without any hassle up to the storage limit. If you want to increase your storage limit then Microsoft charges you for that and also provides various features. Some of them are as follows.
- You can access your cloud account from anywhere but make sure that the internet connection is necessary.
- The file will automatically backup from your device to one drive so that there is no chance of missing any files.
- You can share the documents with your family members and friends. Also, you can collaborate with your office application and works in it when required.
- With the paid subscription of one drive, you can access all the files of the one drive on your PC without taking up your PC storage space.
- Protect your device and cloud storage from the ransomware activities.
- Scan and upload any documents from your mobile directly to the cloud without any problem. But make sure that your device should be connected to the one drive account.
- There is a feature of the personal vault where you can upload your most important documents and images. These vaults add as a security layer to your account. only you can see what’s inside the vault is.
Microsoft One Drive Pricing
- For Personal Use
- For Business Purpose
5. Dropbox Cloud Storage
Dropbox also provides cloud storage services for both individual and business purposes. Up to 2GB of cloud storage is free Dropbox. If you are talking about the individual Drop plus has so many new features. Some of them are as follows.
- There is plenty of room to store your data. Dropbox plus provide you 2TB of the cloud storage space. Hence no problem of getting run out of memory.
- Access any data from the cloud either by your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
- Recover any deleted data from the cloud in the time period of 30 days.
- Backup of the files and documents are done automatically with the connected device.
- one of the best features is that it connects all the devices whether you are using Apple, Android or Windows.
- Over half of the Fortune 500 companies trusts on the Dropbox. The same level of security will be provided to an individual which is enterprise-grade encryption which is top-level security setup.
- Organize your data through the dashboard.
For Business Purpose
If you want to use the dropbox for the business purposes then are three types of plans which are Standard, Professional, Advanced. Here are some features of Dropbox professionals.
- Up to 100 GB of files can be transferred easily through the Dropbox transfer.
- Now you can open special file types in Dropbox this will make clients not to download any other software to see your work. Dropbox can do this for you.
- With the help of Dropbox extensions, you can edit files, pdf, documents, images or other things easily.
- With the help of Dropbox rewind, you can restore the deleted file or folders within a certain period of time. Also, you can add watermark or file link expiration time on your work.
Dropbox Pricing
- For Personal Use
- For Business Purpose
6. Amazon Drive Cloud Storage
Amazon is the one the biggest E-commerce company and its certification on Amazon Web Services in cloud computing is best. Now talking about the Amazon Cloud Drive the company offers 5 GB of cloud storage for free for its users. Any type of files like documents, photos and videos can be uploaded on the drive. if you want to upload the files on the Amazon drive then you can visit directly to the website and upload the files. Another way to upload the file without visiting the website is to download the application for android, ios and desktop. Upload the documents directly through the app on your cloud storage. Here are some best features of the Amazon Cloud Storage Services.
- Firstly, Upload any files, videos, images without any hassle. You can upload anything on the cloud in a permissible storage limit.
- Secondly, The sharing of the file from the Amazon drive is very easy. You can create a group if you want to share with a large group of people. Also, you can show them the only files which you want them to see. They can do any changes with your files, images or videos.
- Thirdly, You can create an album on the drive which will help you to find your photos and videos easily.
- Connect your devices such as Echo Show and Fire TV with Amazon cloud drive.
- You can recover the photos and videos from the Trash in a time period of 30 days after that it will be deleted permanently.
Amazon Cloud Drive Pricing
- For personal use
7. pCloud Storage
pCloud is another cloud storage service provider. It is one of the best and recommends by the top companies in the world. As they are using the services of the company. The services are available for the business as well as for personal use. There are two plan one is annually and other is a lifetime. The lifetime feature is the best as you have to pay a one-time fee and enjoy your whole life. There is another plan for whole family up to the 5 users. And the one-time fee is 500 dollars and the storage is up to 2 TB. Here are some features of the pCloud storage services:
- Firstly, file-sharing is very easy you can invite users on your sharing link. Also, you can brand your share links. Through this link, you can request for any files.
- Secondly, security is world-class with 256-bit AES encryption for all the files. Also, channel protection is given to you so that no one can steal the information during the transmission of data.
- You can add an extra layer of security and there are five copies of your files are present on different servers.
- The cloud storage contains an inbuilt video player. Also, there is no limit of the file size and speed.
- Remotely update or access your data from anywhere. It also facilitates the online preview of the documents. The recovery of deleted files or data includes in the facility.
- One of the best features is that it can back up your file from different platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Dropbox, One Drive and Google Drive.
pCloud Pricing
- for personal use
The Best Cloud Storage Service Provider Among All?
If you take my opinion regarding the best cloud service provider then it will be IDrive. The reason is the features as it contains more features in comparison to the other cloud service provider are giving to a user. Not only in the feature the price is very much similar to all those services. So in terms of the feature IDrive will win otherwise you can choose among any of the cloud services providers. All are good and best in their services. In terms of free storage for a new user, google drive is providing more storage space than other cloud services.
Summary
So this is all about the cloud storage services. All five cloud storage services are good in themselves. There is no comparison among then because every service has its own unique feature which makes it different from other services. I hope that this article you the basic information about cloud storage and the companies with top-class services.