You might have tried out some free online cloud storage services and loved the fact that you can access your files on the fly anywhere. Now the question is, is it worth to pay for a premium service?
We have previously covered the various online cloud storage services and their capabilities in one of our posts. For this post we are going to delve deeper, discussing the pros and cons of the premium cloud storage and the question of will it be worth the money to invest on the premium service.
The Beauty and Pros of Online Cloud Storage
Large to small design business are most likely to benefit on the paid versions of online cloud services with tons of premium features that you can use. If you own a small design business with at least 50 employees, getting the premium account can be very much worth every dime. This is because most cloud storage offer bigger spaces, nifty features and added security measures. Apart from those, one could simply use the bigger cloud space as a back-up killing the need to invest on more servers. With that in mind you would be able to free up some office space but also you would reduce the need for a dedicated IT team that will manage these servers.
1. A Much Bigger Storage Space – Most online cloud storage services offer at least 5gb of storage for free, but there are times that the 5gb won’t suffice. This is specially the case if you save a lot of raw files for collaboration or you need an online backup storage center that you can access anytime and anywhere.
2. Added Features -Apart from the additional space, most paid online cloud storage offers features such as remote computer access, chat or phone support, administrative features, tracking, reporting and faster upload speeds. Most premium features offer a collaborative work option that can be integrated to your workflow.
3. Increased Security Feature – In free versions most online cloud services only offer basic security encryption. With the paid version you will get a much higher level of encryption and a more comprehensive security control. A good example of this comprehensive security control is Dropbox’s Mobile Passcodes that can autowipe after repeated login attempts.
The Pitfalls and Cons of Online Cloud Storage
Everyone can purchase the premium version but not everyone can handle its costs most specially if you are just starting up with your own design business. The cost of maintaining a cloud service can be as inexpensive as $60 (100 GB for Google Drive) or it can go up to a whooping $795 (Dropbox for Business) per year. Unless you own a sustainable business that can rake in a good amount of money every year, getting a premium cloud drive is fine. Sometimes getting a paid storage can be very impractical specially if the added features don’t really meld that well with your business model or workflow.
1. Security & Data Theft Issues – Nothing is safe in the in realm of Internet and many can attest to that. Hackers laid waste to big corporations and known personalities despite having sophisticated security measures. Even with the increased levels of encryption hackers can still manage to break in a user’s cloud service and pretty much do some wreckage like shutting down your cloud or steal precious data.
2. Connectivity – In order to access data from a cloud storage, you have to be logged on the Internet. This presents another problem if you heavily rely on cloud storage, most specially if you travel a lot. Internet speeds vary from one country to another and sometimes the internet connection is unavailable in certain areas. Mobile Internet access can also be a hassle for they can be quiet unreliable in terms of speed, availability and stability.
3. Terms of Service Issues – Back in April of 2012 Google Drive’s ToS became the center of attention in terms of privacy and content usage. Google was said to be giving itself an unrestricted license to the user’s files. In an article at CNET such ramifications could lead to serious consequences like having your files open for scrutiny or termination if Google thinks that your content violates someone’s rights.
To sum things up, paid cloud storage is amazing with design businesses who can manage to afford the expense. If you are considering to purchase one, then there is a vast number of cloud storage companies that offers an array of services depending on one’s budget. Although the free version can pretty much do what the premium version can but with less space and features. You cannot deny the fact that the added features and a bigger storage space makes the deal sweeter granted that you don’t move a lot geographically. While there are still issues with content privacy, finding a service where you are most comfortable with their terms of service is the only way around.
What do you guys think? Tell us at the comments below.