Considering cloud storage? I've been looking around at various options while bouncing files around between Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox (free) and iCloud. What a pain that is, keeping track of what's where and what's the latest version and how much space I have left on each! Now, Dropbox have simplified their "pro" online storage and sharing plan, and at the same time, enhanced the service. Dropbox Pro is now either $9.99/month or $99/year. For that, you get 1TB of storage for just about any kind of data you can think of.
Along with the enhanced storage, there are a number of sharing, collaboration, and data security features. For instance:
- Best in class sync -- Instantly sync photos, videos, docs, and other files across devices.
- Plenty of space -- Get 1TB of space for all your files. Keep everything safe and in one place.
- Enterprise-grade security -- Dropbox protects files with 256-bit AES and SSL encryption.
- Mobile apps -- Access your Dropbox on the go with apps for iOS and Android.
- Version history -- Restore a previous or deleted version of any file within 30 days (up to one year for an additional fee).
- Camera Upload -- The Dropbox app for iOS and Andriod backs up photos from your mobile devices as you take them. (Download the free Carousel app for the best experience on mobile devices).
- Set passwords for shared links -- Add an additional layer of security to your shared links. Only people with the password can access them.
- Set expiration dates for shared links -- Safeguard your sensitive files. Choose how long shared links are available.
- Manage permissions for shared folders -- Choose whether collaborators can edit files in shared folders or just view them.
- Higher sharing limits -- More people can download your shared links with 10x the sharing bandwidth compared to the free plan.
- Remote wipe for lost devices -- Delete data from a lost or stolen device. Rest assured a copy is backed up in Dropbox.
- Priority support -- Get priority email response from the Dropbox support team.
Of course, you can get all the details by going over to the Dropbox site (Users of their existing free plans should go to their upgrade page).
I realize that for the same price, you can get Microsoft Office 365, which includes the full Office suite and 1TB of storage space, and that OneDrive allows some interesting accessibility for connected PCs running Windows7 (the last I checked, it didn't work with Windows8). But OneDrive doesn't play so well with iPhones, doesn't sync as cleanly as Dropbox does for certain data types, and doesn't work with my OnSong teleprompter iPad app (as long as I'm connected to the internet, OnSong can directly access my Dropbox for offline storage of my musical charts and other documents). Dropbox also allows for easier secure file and folder sharing, which can allow files on multiple computers to stay synced, almost in real time.
Because of the real time syncing of data, Dropbox (and OneDrive and Google Drive, too for that matter) still aren't viable as cloud-based archival backup options -- if you delete something from any of the local synced drives, it's immediately deleted from Dropbox and the other machines as well. For true cloud-based backup, you should investigate a service like Backblaze, which offers unlimited backup storage for $5/month/computer. I can visualize a scheme where all of your devices use Dropbox to sync data, and Backblaze keeps an archive of the synched folder from one of the computers, effectively backing up all of the important data from all computers as a single instance -- relatively simple cloud syncing, sharing, and archival backup for about $15/month total.
Dropbox and the Dropbox logo are trademarks of Dropbox, Inc.