In the past, you had to rely on external hard drives to store your files. If you needed to access the files, you had to get the drive into a computer, search for the files you want and transfer them to another medium. Some people still use flash drives to transfer files from one medium to another. However, this method of file storage and transfer can be risky. For instance, your data can get corrupted during the transfer due to things like power failure, hardware failure and others.
So, how can you ensure your files will be safe and can be transferred without being corrupted? The solution is to use storage services.
Online storage services are also known as cloud services. The services make it easy to store, transfer and edit files from wherever you are. There are many companies that offer cloud storage services. Before you decide to create an account with any of the providers, it pays to do your research well. Below are some things you should consider when choosing a cloud provider.
i) How much space do you want
Cloud services offer a significant amount of space compared to offline storage. Most companies offer from 1GB to unlimited amount of space. However, you have to pay for the space you need. For small amounts of space, you may be given a free account. However, for larger amounts of space, you may have to pay. Added details about this are defined if you click here. Most companies offer up to 2GB of free online storage.
If you want to store your office documents, you can do just fine with a free account. However, if you want to back up videos and other large files, you may need to pay for a premium account. The prices vary from provider to provider.
ii) Ability to sync
Another thing to consider is whether you can sync the files in your account to different devices. Most cloud service providers allow file syncing across devices like PCs, smartphones and tablets. To sync your files, you have to download the company's app and create an account.
Through iCloud, syncing allows you to access your files across multiple devices. Apart from this, any changes that you make to the files are immediately apply across all devices. Syncing ensure you have up to date files and can download or upload new files to your account with ease.
Cloud storage has been gaining ground over the last five years. The above are two benefits of cloud storage services.