Now that summer is officially here, you want to be mobile more than at any other time of year. If you are at all like me, you hate to be tied down to one location – even if it’s your own home office! Luckily for us digital nomads, cloud storage options abound – each with unique advantages and features that offer the perfect solution for file sharing, collaboration, storage and backups.
So, how many options are out there for cloud-based file storage? LOTS! If you work with a virtual team, you are probably already familiar with Dropbox* – it’s a great solution for sharing files – but there are many more options available that may fit the bill (or some of the bill).
Depending on your specific needs – you may want to consider one (or several) of these solutions. I personally use three: Dropbox* for sharing files, Google Drive for my own personal files and Amazon S3 for additional file hosting, media streaming and backups. All of the services are free (or darned close to free) – so you can pick several services that each bring their own strengths to the table – to create your own personal solution. Here’s a quick list:
Dropbox*: Fantastic option for really easy file sharing with colleagues & clients… plus cross-device availability: Android, iPad, iPhone – the works! Nothing beats its ease of use.
Google Drive: This very recent entry to the cloud storage world, Drive is the successor to Google Docs. If you are a Google Apps user, this is for you!! Drive has an app that allows you to sync your Google Apps documents to your hard drive for offline access – plus stores files of any kind – allowing you to use it as a backup device as well. Power tip: Google Drive will open over 30 files types in your browser – including Photoshop and illustrator – even if those programs arent installed on your computer! Additional storage is as little as $2.49/month for 25GB.
Amazon S3: Amazon Simple Storage Service offers crazy amounts of scalable file storage for free – or really close to free. This is a pick for storing media files (images, video, PDFs) for your website, as it spares your web host the streaming bandwidth. Easiest way to access your AS3 space is to use the freemium Amazon S3 client tools by Cloudberry Labs. One caveat: if you don’t enjoy unraveling techie-toys – this is not for you. The AWS suite of services is intended for web applications and serious developers. Honestly, much of the content at Amazon AWS makes my head spin. If you can slog through it – you will get a lot out of it.
Additional options:
Wait, there’s more!
- Thinking of making the switch to Google Apps? I got you covered.
- Carla & I discuss cloud storage stuff on The Online Biz Insiders Podcast. It was too much info for just one podcast, so it’s a 2-parter… here and here. Check it out & subscribe today!
- For a very huge and thorough comparison of more cloud storage options – check out this recent article and comparison chart at The Verge.
* = affiliate link
I adore dropbox a lot and use it for everything at work and home. Never have to worry about my stuff getting lost, being inaccessible, or having multiple versions of the same document saved in two different locations. It gives me peace of mind and saves precious time.