CLOUD STORAGE SOLUTIONS AND AVAILABLE SERVICES
Assisting with Central Storage Locations or Off Site Backup Solutions
What is the cloud? Well its a file system available to any device connected to the Internet once necessary security credentials are provided and authorized. Whether the file system is managed by Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon or even YOU. If you have files that you need to access from multiple devices we can assist you with choosing the right solutions that are compatible with all your devices. Do you want to insure your files are protected against catastrophic loss such as ransomware, fire, theft or natural disaster? Storing your files to an offsite location may be your best option. What if you don't trust "Company XYZ" to manage and protect your data? Well we can set you up with your own personal cloud, kept onsite in your location. If you do trust cloud storage solutions to manage your data but you want to make sure the service is as secure as possible with two factor authentication we can help with that too.
COMMON CLOUD SOLUTIONS
PERFORMED IN STOKES COUNTY, NC
CLOUD STORAGE
Cloud Storage services provide seamless access to all your important data—Word Docs, PDFs, Spreadsheets, Photos, and any other digital assets—from wherever you are.
Common Services include Microsoft One Drive, Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Drop Box.
You no longer need to be sitting at your work PC to see your work files. With cloud syncing you can get to them from your smartphone on the train, from your tablet on your couch, and from the laptop in your hotel room or kitchen. Using a service like those included here means no more having to email files to yourself or plug and unplug USB thumb drives.
If you don't yet have a service for storing and syncing your data in the cloud, you should seriously consider one. Which you choose depends on the kinds of files you store, how much security you need, whether you plan to collaborate with other people, and which devices you use to edit and access your files. It may also depend on your comfort level with computers in general.
APPLE ICLOUD
iCloud Drive is part of iCloud, Apple's cloud storage service that launched in 2011. It lets you save photos, videos, documents, music, and app data to iCloud. Not only does it let you store all your stuff in one place, but it lets you access all of your files and data from your iOS device, Mac, and Windows PC, and then keep those files and folders up to date across all your devices.
It even allows you to create new files and folders from iCloud-enabled apps and work on the same file across multiple apps. iCloud Drive also works with iCloud.com. You can use Apple's website for iCloud to create, save, and share documents in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, for instance.
Apple provides 5GB of free storage with a subscription model available for additional storage.
iCloud 50GB: $0.99 per month
iCloud 200GB: $2.99 per month
iCloud 2TB: $9.99 per month
GOOGLE DRIVE
What iCloud is to Apple users, Google Drive is to Android and Chromebook users. That said, it's also a great option for iPhone users who want a clean photo storage experience, and students and professionals who use Google Docs and other Google services.
It gives you a generous 15GB free, and unlimited free storage for your Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files with support for real-time collaboration.
It also goes up to 10TB. Plus, the new Google Drive "Google One" consumer storage plans can be shared between a maximum of five family members, too.
Google One 100GB: $1.99
Google One 200GB: $2.99
Google One 2TB: $9.99
MICROSOFT ONE DRIVE
You'll probably notice a pattern here, but if you're a Windows 10 PC user or an Office 365 subscriber, OneDrive is the obvious choice for you. First of all, it's a bargain, as it is included in an Office 365 subscription and costs way less than competing services charge for their 1TB tier. It also supports real-time collaboration on Office documents.
Really, OneDrive and Office 365 are designed to be tightly integrated with the Windows 10 OS. And that's immediately clear when you use the company's apps and software for the Mac and iOS platforms. They're just not very good, to be blunt. But if you want to use the basic plan, for $1.99 month, without any of the Office 365 perks, you'll find that there are cheaper alternatives that give you more storage.
Microsoft One Drive Cloud Pricing
One Drive 100GB: $1.99 per month
Microsoft 365 Personal 1TB: $69.99 per year
Microsoft 365 Family 6TB (6 Users | Per 1TB User): $99.99 per year
CLOUD BACKUP
An online backup service is one of the best ways to protect yourself against such threats as a crashed hard drive, ransomware or accidental deletion. Natural disasters such as fires, floods, and earthquakes can also spell the end of your digital media and documents. Even if you're among the very few who diligently perform local backups at regular intervals, you could still lose data if you don't store backups offsite. Online backup services scan your computer or other device for files worthy of protecting, encrypt them for security, and send them up to the company who’s service you have subscribed too. Once your files are uploaded, you can access and restore your data from anywhere.
Common Services include Carbonite, Acronis, Back Blaze, iDrive, Spider Oak, Sugar Sync and Zoolz.
Though there's some overlap, online backup services shouldn't be confused with cloud storage and file syncing services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud. Those services do store files in the cloud, but they aren't designed to automatically protect all important documents and media files, let alone system files. Their strategy is generally to sync just one folder with all its subfolders to the cloud, and in some cases, to offer online collaborative document editing. Many backup services offer folder-syncing capabilities, but few syncing services offer full-scale backup functionality.
CARBONITE
Carbonite is a set and forget applications that insures all your personal files and folders are backed up securely. Bringing Your Tech to Life is proud to be a Carbonite Partner.
Carbonite Cloud Backup Solution Pricing