Online storage of computer files is becoming more important to companies, professional practices, and even individuals and families. I have been purchasing online storage for several years and am thrilled with all the storage solutions that are commonly known as cloud storage. This article provides a quick review of cloud storage providers. If you are seeking an exhaustive list, take a look at Wikipedia’s comparison of online backup services.

Shop Before You Buy

A few years ago I purchased online storage from a low-cost provider.   I was initially excited and began uploading files.  Unfortunately uploading the files was so slow that believe it or not, I would actually be logged by the software because of “inactivity”. You can imagine my frustration.  That is when I began shopping around and when I did find a better solution, I had to painstakingly download the files from my old-slow provider and then upload to the new provider. This is a headache you should avoid. For that reason I suggest taking your time before you make a commitment.

The factors that are important for cloud storage include:

  • speed
  • reliability
  • cost
  • security
  • ease-of-use and features

I recently researched various online storage service providers and rated a few on the factors listed below. The matrix presented below are just a few storage providers. The reviews are based on my experiences, the experiences of my , and the researched I conducted.

speed reliability cost security ease-of-use/features
Just Cloud 5 5 5 5 5
Zip Cloud 5 5 5 5 5
My PC Backup 5 5 5 5 5
Sugar Sync 4 4 5 5 4.5
Mozy 4 4 3 4.5 4
Dropbox 5 5 3 5 4.5
Box 4 4.5 3.5 5 3.5