Today there are many different options for Cloud storage. We will discuss what some of the most popular options are and their pros and cons. 

• Google Drive: drive.google.com
  • Size availability: 15GB free with a free Gmail account but paid accounts give greater amounts of space
    • Space is determined by where the document is housed and not by what has been shared with you
  • Resources needed: The Google Drive was traditionally based on the Internet. Now mobile apps exist to access Google Drive. There is a program that will allow you to access and use the Google Drive as if it were a drive on your computer and you can access across all of your devices.
• Microsoft OneDrive: onedrive.live.com
  • Size availability: 5GB free, but paid accounts give greater space, and you can buy more. 
  • Resources needed: Windows 10 computers come preloaded with Microsoft OneDrive that you can access as if it were a drive on your computer. Each Microsoft account has its own access to OneDrive. OneDrive is also the default location for any files saved in Microsoft Office. Mobile apps also exist to access OneDrive across all of your devices. 
• Apple iCloud: icloud.com
  • Size availability: 100GB free but can pay for more
  • Resources needed: iPhones and iPads automatically back up to the iCloud through the Apple ID that you used to access them. It is possible to access the iCloud through an app directly on your iPhone or iPad. If you access the iCloud through this drive, it acts much like a typical drive on a computer. 
  • Only available for Apple devices
• Dropbox: dropbox.com
  • Size availability: 2GB free but can pay for or otherwise get access to more
  • Resources needed: There is a Dropbox app available for mobile devices and for computers. This program acts more like a folder than a drive. You will need a Dropbox account to use it. 
• Amazon Drive: https://www.amazon.com/photos/welcome
  • Size availability: free photo storage for Prime Members, plus 5GB, but you can pay for more space
  • Resources needed: There is an Amazon Photos app and an Amazon Drive app available for mobile devices and for computers. The Amazon Drive app acts much like a folder. The Photos app is more customized for photos. 

Before choosing any of these solutions, Tech Lab highly recommends reading the license agreement. Dropbox owns anything that is put onto it. This may make it not the best place to store confidential documents. 

You can share files with other people in Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox. When you share a file with someone else, generally this does not count against their space. The user has the ability to download a copy of it, in which case it would count against their computer’s space, or to save a copy to their own account. This is a great way to keep access to something you fear you might lose. However, when you save a copy, the changes are no longer synced in the document. 

Internet required

Because these are Cloud solutions, these generally require the Internet to work properly.  It is possible to make the programs available for use offline, but when you make changes offline, these changes will not be reflected in the files online until the device where you have made the changes goes back online. 

It is also possible to download the documents from the Cloud as files to your computer. However, if you do this, changes will no longer be synced with the Cloud. 

If you have questions on any of these options or need help setting up a cloud solution, contact Tech Lab at 414-208-4682.