ENWhen cloud services offer a healthy amount of GB’s for a cheap price, it is very tempting to look only at the price. However, in these situations it is crucial to know what is behind the curtain. Cloud providers have found various ways to stay ahead of the competition. Today we help you find what you should look at when navigating through the many cloud offers available in the market.
Fast and stable cloud services
Cloud providers tend to avoid specific information about syncing speed and stability, specially in regards to upload and downloads. Sharing large files can turn into a ‘waiting game’ that will affect productivity. While your internet connection can affect your syncing speed, cloud providers often avoid mentioning upload and download limitations. Clear examples of this could be Dropbox and OneDrive, as both providers implement some sort of file size or upload limitation.
Sharing large files in the cloud
Is it possible to share large files or are constrained to a specific file size? Before investing in your new cloud platform, learn beforehand if sharing large files will become a problem. In some instances, there are no file size limits, most of the time you will have a daily limit.
What happens to your data in the cloud?
Where is your data stored? Most major cloud services come from the United States, mostly using US based datacenters. Because data is either saved or shared with American datacenters, your data might fall under US Privacy Law. This means the American government may have direct access to your files. If data privacy is an important factor, then you have more solid options in Europe. Read our post on how to keep your corporate data private to learn more about its impact.
Personal Support
When exploring a new cloud service, you are bound to run into some unclear situations. Whether it happens because you are not familiar with the product, or a technical issue, it is important to find a quick solution. Many cloud providers prefer to only offer an online documentation page. You need to decide whether you would prefer to chat or talk with an actual person, or spend time navigating through an endless list of articles.
Annual or Monthly Subscription
Most cloud services offer annual or monthly subscriptions. Monthly options are in most cases more expensive. However, annual contracts force clients to stick with the service for a long period. A monthly subscription gives you more flexibility, giving you more freedom to upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time.
Storage is important, but take these 5 tips into account when choosing a new cloud service. A large amount of storage is not as important as the features around it. Most organizations, on average only need 50GB for company documents.
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