Web-based storage such as Mozy, DropBox, Carbonite and Amazon S3 have become increasingly popular with companies and individuals as a flexible and simple way of storing data . However, before signing up with any online storage solution , you need to consider the following factors.
1. Uptime
It can be very frustrating not being able to access your data which has been backed up. Therefore, uptime is very vital for companies as well as individuals. Find online storage providers who will offer you a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
2. Security
Security is a vital requirement for online storage . A good online storage service should also be able to provide the following security measures.
- A requirement for usernames and passwords to access data
- The use of a TLS (Transport Layer Security) encrypted connection when moving data between your computers
- Securing data using top-grade encryption
- Protecting your data from being accessed directly by the employees of the service
3. Interfacing with the service
It is usually easy to transfer data from a computer to online storage . Most online storage services allow you to log in to a site to download, upload as well as manage files. However, many web interfaces are limited in terms of features.
Find an online storage service with software integrating with your operating system or your desktop. This software allows you to drag and drop files and folders from your computer directly to your online storage space. For companies that would like to store huge amounts of data, such a service offers a quick and convenient way of downloading and uploading files in bulk.
4. Customer support
At one time or another, you will have problems with your online storage service . Having such problems fixed fast is very crucial, especially for businesses. This is why good customer support is important.
Find out what kind of support is offered by the online storage services you are considering. Do they offer support through articles, email or forums? Or does the service offer a toll-free telephone number or live instant messaging support? For urgent problems, you should be able to respond within one or two hours. This means that you have to talk to a real person on the phone. For problems which are less urgent, you could send an email or post on a forum.
5. Cost
There are a number of online storage services which allow users to backup up to 2GB of data for free. Usually, this is enough for small business or home users. For any additional space, a fee is charged. Before signing up for any service, make sure the cost of online storage is significantly lower than the cost of offline storage.
Charles Mburugu is a technology enthusiast who is presently writing for a coupon blog which offers norton 360 renewal coupon code and carbonite promotion code . He also writes about coupon offers at blogs which offer carbonite coupons and norton discounts.
How Online Storage Has Replaced the Thumb Drive
Over the past several years, there has been an increase in the number of people who use online storage instead of thumb drives to backup their data. Online storage is replacing the thumb drive because thumb drives are not as reliable and do not offer all of the options people need when saving and backing up their computer files. In addition, online storage is also replacing the thumb drive because saving and backup data online is much more affordable than purchasing individual thumb drives.
Online Storage is More Reliable Than Thumb Drives
Reliability is one of the top of the reasons why online storage is replacing the thumb drive. Saving and backing up data, documents, files and photos online is much more reliable than backing up files to a thumb drive. This is because thumb drives, also referred to as flash drives, often malfunction and get lost quite often. Once a thumb drive malfunctions, people usually cannot recover the data, files and documents they have saved to their thumb drive. Since online file storage companies routinely backup all the data, people who use online storage always know that anything they save online will be preserved and accessible in the future. This is one of the main reasons why online storage is replacing the thumb drive.
Files Saved Online Can be Shared in The Cloud
Online storage is replacing the thumb drive because files saved online can be shared with others. With so many people sharing documents, files and photos online these days, online storage is replacing thumb drives because files saved to a thumb drive can only be accessed by the person in possession of the device. This is a major limitation for anyone who has a need to share files instantly with others across the country and the world. Not being to instantly share documents with others is one reason why thumb drives are close to obsolete.
Using Online Storage is More Affordable Than Purchasing Individual Thumb Drives
Another reason why online storage is replacing the thumb drive is that online storage is more affordable than purchasing individual thumb drives. For people who need to save large files or a large volume of documents, the cost of saving and backing their files and documents up online is much less than purchasing thumb drives with enough space separately. When it comes to saving money, saving files and documents online is always going to be more affordable than purchasing multiple thumb drives.
Save Files Faster Online Than With a Thumb Drive
Online storage is replacing the thumb drive because people who save files online spend less time saving and backing up their files. Thumb drives have become less popular because backing up data and saving files to a thumb drive can be very time consuming. People who use an online file storage account to save data spend less time backing up and saving their files. This is one reason why so many people prefer saving their files online than using a thumb drive.
Online File Storage Offers Advance Features
When comparing the advanced features of online storage in comparison to the features of a thumb drive, online file storage offers many more advanced features than thumb drives do. Although some thumb drives offer some advanced security features and encryption, online file storage accounts offer many more features and benefits for one low cost.
When it comes to choosing between online file storage and using a thumb drive, many more people prefer storing their files online because storing files online is more affordable than purchasing multiple thumb drives. Online storage is also replacing the thumb drive because online file storage offers many more features than thumb drives do. In addition to being able to share files with others in an instant, online files storage accounts are also replacing the thumb drive because they usually offer much more space than the thumb drive offers for a fraction of the price.
Author bio:
Ken Lyons writes for Brainloop, a company specializing in creating a highly secure workspace through secure online document sharing, information rights management, and other data protection services using the highly secure Brainloop dataroom environment making it easy to sharing documents with Brainloop .