One of the most popular blogs we’ve ever posted is the comparison of Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, SkyDrive and SkyDrive Pro that Mark Gordon wrote for us back in July of 2013. Of course, a lot’s changed since then. Services have been renamed, prices have shifted and the whole idea of cloud storage has gained more steam.
With this in mind, we thought it made sense to take another look at a few of the top cloud solutions and what they can offer you.
Dropbox
Despite the best efforts of the other solutions on this list, Dropbox is still what many people think of when they think about cloud storage. The company’s strategy of offering individuals more storage for getting their friends to sign up for the service helped Dropbox spread virally early, so there’s a good chance a lot of people in your organization are already familiar with the service. The downside to that, of course, is that there’s a good chance a lot of your company’s files are already on Dropbox, without any real protection.
Best Qualities:
2 GB free personal storage
Simplicity of interface
Ease of sign-up and installation
The name Dropbox has become nearly synonymous with cloud file storage and sharing
Limitations:
Designed as a consumer/personal solution
Not a collaboration solution
No corporate control of document sharing or retention in personal accounts
No auditing, legal discovery in personal accounts
No ability to host sensitive files on premises–US Government can blind subpoena your data at any time
No full text search
Google Drive
If Dropbox has the advantage of being the first name people think of when they think of cloud storage, Google Drive’s advantage is that Google’s the first name people think of when they think of… pretty much everything else. Google Drive integrates well into the whole Googleverse, including Google Apps. Of course, Google’s business model is based around advertising, and their user agreement states that they have the right to scan all your content and sell information about you to anyone.
Best Qualities:
Free 15 GB personal storage
Online readers for rendering many types of files in your browser
Online Editors for Office documents
Integration with other Google offerings like Gmail
Limitations:
Designed as a consumer/personal solution
Online editing is not full fidelity and documents may not look the way you expect on the desktop after editing
No corporate control of document sharing or retention in personal accounts
No auditing, legal discovery in personal accounts
No ability to host sensitive files on premises–US Government can blind subpoena your data at any time
OneDrive
Just like Dropbox and Google Drive have their competitive advantages, OneDrive has its own: Windows integration. OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive) is available straight from the Windows 8 interface, and integrates very well with the Office suite and other Microsoft offerings.
Best Qualities:
Free 7 GB personal storage
Online readers for rendering many types of files in your browser
Full fidelity of online editors for Office documents
Integration with other Microsoft offerings
Microsoft user privacy agreement gives you full ownership of your files and documents; Microsoft does not scan them or sell data about you
Limitations:
Designed as a consumer/personal solution
No corporate control of document sharing or retention in personal accounts
No auditing, legal discovery in personal accounts
No ability to host sensitive files on premises–US Government can blind subpoena your data at any time
No full text search
OneDrive for Business
While OneDrive has established itself as a strong contender in the personal cloud storage space, Mirosoft’s made great efforts to set OneDrive for Business apart in the enterprise cloud storage market. Integrated with SharePoint 2013 and able to be hosted Online, On-Premises or through a hybrid of those options, Microsoft’s doing their best to carve out their spot as leaders of the enterprise storage solutions. (This week’s announcement that storage for OneDrive for Business customers will increase from 25GB to 1TB per user won’t hurt, either.)
Best Qualities:
Low cost, OneDrive Pro comes as part of the complete SharePoint Online subscription which is $3.00 user/month
1TB per person as part of SharePoint Online or Office 365ProPlus
Ability to host Online, On-Premises or Hybrid with seamless user experience
Online readers for rendering many types of files in your browser
Full text search of your content with refinements
Online editors for Office documents
Full integration with Office and Windows
Granular control and monitoring of documents
No sharing, corporate sharing or external sharing
Full auditing of read, edit, search, etc.
Legal hold and discovery
Retention policies
No ability for US Government to blind subpoena your sensitive documents from on-premises or hybrid environments
Limitations:
No free option
There are upsides and downsides to any cloud storage solution, especially when you’re considering implementing a service within your business. Whichever solution you decide to go with, you should make sure to have a plan for how the new service will be integrated into your organization and how you’ll ensure buy-in from the various stakeholders and members of your company.
