Our files, photos, music, video, financials and more are all stored on our computer hard drives.
But what happens if your hard drives crash?
All hard drives will fail eventually and they usually happen at random when you least expect them.
We no longer have CD collections, or DVD racks with our films, or photo albums of our photos, they are all stored on our hard drives.
Theft, Fire, Accidental deletion, hardware failure, all these can contribute to lost files.
Files which are no longer just binary text, these files are irreplaceable memories which money cannot buy back.
Online Backup is like insurance, for free, or a small monthly fee (Less than the cost of a Cinema Ticket) you will never have to worry about your files again. If you get a new computer and you need to restore your files and documents its literally a click of a button.
BCE provides students with 30GB of free storage using Google Drive, this should be set up for every student on our network. Students simply go to Google Drive and sign in with their student email and password. Students can have this storage enabled at IT, classroom teachers can also arrange with IT to have the trainees come to their environments to set up a whole class in a short period of time, a recommended strategy.
I use the following Cloud Storage platforms:
Apple iCloud: When it comes to ease of use, iCloud easily outpaces the competition. It’s not so much that the other cloud services reviewed are difficult to use (they aren’t), it’s merely that iCloud has done it the simplest. All of your files are in one place and it doesn’t require any hands-on management; you simply download or save a file once and it is instantly available on all of your devices. When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage, with upgrades available.
Best for: Simplicity of use between Apple products, iPhones, iPads and Mac.
Google Drive:
You get a little bit of everything with this service, including a word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation builder, plus 15GB of free storage space.
If you already have a Google account, you can already access Google Drive. You just have to enable the service. Upload to Drive, photos, videos, documents, Photoshop files and more, however, you have to share that 15GB with your Gmail account, photos you upload to Google+, and any documents you create in Google Drive. While you can access any of your files from the Drive Web site, you can also download the Drive desktop app for Mac and PC to manage your files from your computer. Like other cloud storage services, Drive has apps for iOS and Android, so you can manage your files from your phone.
You can edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, even if you created the document in another program. If you use Gmail, it's easy to save attachments from your e-mail directly to Drive with just a few clicks.
Best for: Access of documents you want frequently, or anyone who wants a few office tools with their cloud storage.
Dropbox:
It's reliable, easy to use, and a breeze to set up. Your files live in the cloud and you can get to them at any time from Dropbox's Web site, desktop applications for Mac, Windows or any mobile ISO device. Dropbox gives its users plenty of opportunities to get extra storage to beef up the paltry 2GB you get Free when you sign up.
Best for: Simple sharing when you use tons of different kinds of devices.
Why I use more than one? Simple, why put all your eggs in the one basket?? I still use an external hardrive as well, I have a dedicated email account that is only used as a file storage platform too. Online Backup is insurance, hard drives eventually WILL fail, simple.
Here is a recent review of 10 of the world’s leading cloud storage companies testing their service for speed, reliability, security, ease of use, cost and their support. Personally, I think trust, reliability and security to be the most important factors to consider when considering your options, so use this guide to help you find the best cloud storage provider to suit your needs.
Thanks,
Shaun
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