Choosing your cloud storage solution

Cloud storage has been around for several years now. As a result, many of our clients have at least a passing familiarity with it. In some cases, they’ve used it personally and may even be using it in the workplace.

One of the questions we hear often is, “Which cloud storage solution is right for my team?” To answer that question, we have to look at a number of factors.

What is cloud storage?

Cloud storage is similar to a giant file cabinet that every employee can access, but it turns out it’s even more efficient than that. With a physical filing cabinet, each employee would have to get up from their desk, go to the filing cabinet on the other side of the office, search for what they need, then return to their desk.

Of course, file cabinets are not used as frequently now as they have been in years past. But time is still wasted by emailing files back and forth or sharing documents using flash drives. Cloud storage centralizes all that by syncing files from multiple places.

When using cloud storage, employees can access work files from any device at any given time. They’re limited only by the guidelines you set for your organization.

What questions should I ask?

There are a number of questions you may want to ask if you’re looking into cloud storage options.

• What’s my budget?
• Is there a free trial for a specific solution I’m considering?
• Can I share files with people not using the service?
• What level of control do I need to have over access?
• Do I need versioning capabilities?
• Is security a primary concern?
• Will my IT provider help if needed, and is their help dependent on the solution I choose?

Of course, the questions that are important for your team to ask are likely different from the questions another organization would ask. Each team’s priorities are unique.

Available options

There are dozens of cloud storage solutions available. We recommend you choose just one solution and make its use mandatory across your entire organization. Allowing each employee to use their personal choice can cause a lot of issues.

Here are the top five cloud storage solutions we tend to recommend:

1. Datto Drive
2. Dropbox
3. Google Drive
4. Amazon Drive
5. OneDrive

Which one you choose will depend on what your priorities are. You’ll need to spend time identifying which features work best for your company and potentially consult with an IT professional.