Hi folks,
Our firm has grown to 5 staff over the past few years. When I started the practice 6 years ago I used Dropbox for all client folders and documents and used Gmail for emails.
Last year I made the move to MS Office with Outlook for emails and Office 365 for file storage (via "Sites"). I have to say I am not overly keen on it. We do like Outlook as a product but I find the file storage on Office 365 to be problematic. Files take time to open and save, we've had to map directories on our PC's for easy access, I have had access issues and the only way to resolve was re-map directories and drives using Internet Explorer to access our 365 Site online, and then Ihad issues with IE crashing!
Now we've hit our limit of 12.5 GB of storage space and Microsoft want more money for more space. Before proceeding I want to consider our options and would be grateful for feedback on other cloud storage systems, what does everyone else use, is Dropbox for business suitable?
I never had issues with Dropbox before apart from file conflicts but I'm sure we could have our own rules or procedures around this if we decided to switch back?
All advice greatly appreciated folks.
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Replies (11)
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Dropbox + Boxcryptor
I use Dropbox (for business) and Boxcryptor to encrypt all files stored on the Dropbox system.
It's OK but not perfect - it works most of the time but I have random read-only and permissions problems when trying to save files. I've tried resettng folder permissions but haven't found a solution as yet.
I was going to try OneDrive but maybe I shouldn't bother?
1 tb storage
Office 365 should give you 1tb of storage. Just looking into it myself. I'm currently using onedrive on my computer but I'm coming close to the 15gb limit.
Previous to that I was using Dropbox as I had a 60gb limit and had all sorts stored on it.Turned out that was only for 2 years and it dropped back to 2gb.
Know How Cloud
Last year I paid £90 for a 4 TB facility for 5 years (Alternatively I could have paid £60 for 2TB for 2 years) with Know How cloud.
It is basic but it works. The only hassle was that it is a slow upload initially - it took a couple of months to get about 900GB of data uploaded.
Previously I had been using the much more expensive [£164.78 per year for less than 1TB data] SugarSync but on at least two occasions in 2015 I discovered that it had failed to perform back ups for periods of several weeks so I've ditched it (this was on a Windows 8 / 8.1 computer).
A third alternative that I was considering was Nero's low cost offering but unfortunately they are withdrawing from the Cloud back up market.
Regarding the Microsoft offerings (eg. Office365 and OneDrive) which I have access to I don't actively use or rely on these as they appear to be typically MS unreliable (eg. regular silly messages on computer at start up such as "We couldn't find the location of your OneDrive folder - Please click "reconfigure OneDrive" to set up your OneDrive folder again").
I can recommend Egnyte:
Its not the cheapest solution, but it is the best for dealing with employee permissions and lockout of files.
I have also used the Dropbox and Boxcrypter approach, not the best option for sharing files with your clients though. These cannot be encrypted without giving your password to your clients!
Google Drive
We made the decision to move 100% Google Apps - it is not a question of comparing storage amounts / cost but a move away from working on local PCs, with all the duplicated / conflicted copies that comes with that. (Coincidentally we took the decision at the same time that Xero as an organisation did the same for their internal systems).
It moves the mindset from there being versions of files to being instinctively collaborative on shared files - with clients as well as internally.
Cloud Options
Hi there, you could create your own cloud with a Netgear ReadyNAS and then have the files saved to the NAS and then use BT Sync to ensure everyone on the move has the latest files. Then you can use either a second ReadyNAS to backup or use their Cloud Backup.
You could also look at a fully hosted solution whereby you move away from the local desktop to a remote desktop. This would allow you to continue working in the same way but with the advantage of all files and applications being available from any computer.
The 12.5GB limit that you mention does seem strange and this would be worth raising a question with Microsoft Support.
My company has helped clients with both options and Office 365 so would be happy to talk it through.
Elliott
Office 365/OneDrive
I currently use Office 365 for email. So is it worth me trying their cloud file storage? It sounds from the OP's comments as if it won't be any better than using Dropbox/Boxcryptor?
cloud storage
Dropbox is suitable business because this software is for team so you can easily share and update data with your whole organization.
box.com
A client of mine uses box.com which is great - but i am not sure of what the costs involved are.
Glacier?
With all that data stored how much of it is actually used?
If you are storing it just because you have to (statutory for x no of years) or because you feel you need to then consider how often you access it.
If it is very rarely or never then maybe you could consider glacier storage. This is where you pay for storage but as is is almost never accessed the rates for storage are much lower.
Amazon I believe have a glacier storage option at low rates. There are other organisations that do this also.
This would free up your current storage requirements.
OneDrive v Dropbox v GoogleDrive
Also had sync'ing issues with OneDrive.
Disadvantages of OneDrive seem to be that it first saves to cloud then syncs back to desktop, whereas Dropbox saves to desktop then syncs to cloud in the background.
Also OneDrive takes over your computer, and GoogleDrive won't happily accept two independent GDs - ie with separate email address.
Dropbox however is discrete so on balance is more manageable.