I'm looking to ditch the server in the office in favour of a cloud storage provider. Looked at both Google Drive and Dropbox for buisness.
Has anyone else gone down this route? Any preferences for one over the other or a differant method?
Replies (21)
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File types
What do you need the storage provider to hold?
For example, a database such as BTC doesn't work well in any of these scenarios.
My experience
Is of OneDrive and Dropbox, I prefer the latter as I share various bits with clients and it seems more widely used. I also prefer the desktop sync, OneDrive didn't always work so well.
Pricing
Hi Howard, do you use the DropBox for business service? I've looked at the pricing on the website and it looks as if you need to subscribe for a minimum of five users at £55 per month. That's a bit pricey for me as I only need two users.
And can you set these services up as virtual drives on your PC? I assume you can.
My husband's company has blocked dropbox as it says it's insecure and they have to now use onedrive instead.
DropBox
@mabzden - we've got the Pro subscription, three of us share the same login - works perfectly.
@mrshamilton - if somebody wants to hack you they will, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud (woohoo, who's naked this week) - the right hacker will get in there eventually if they can be bothered. I take security very seriously but in all honesty, if Anonymous or Kim Jong-un want to nick a few UTR's or low and behold a set of company accounts then let them do their worst.
Googledrive
We use Googledrive for a team of 6 and it works well. It does have the odd occasion of not syncing and you have to keep an eye on it, but it has worked for us. As Howard Marks says though, it doesn't work well with BTC or similar.
i have tried google drive but it slows down my laptop each time it syncs when i start it up
have you looked at NAS storage, basically your own cloud storage? no monthly fees
or you can stick a portable drive at the back of your wireless modem (must have an USB port) and it acts as a network drive. most wireless routers would do this and if no, get one that does.
some even allow you a remote connection to that drive
have a look here - http://www.ebuyer.com/668559-qnap-ts-231-2-bay-desktop-nas-enclosure-ts-231
did not try it but looking into it too
Try Box
Box is excellent. It has two step authentication and desktop sync works great. All previous versions of documents are saved and easy to access. Good for collaborative work too.
I have many clients
Who use dropbox for business works well, great for sharing and far easier to sync than other systems
Yes, it doesn't comply with certain data laws as the content can be read by dropbox employees in the US in an unencrypted format, but if they want to see the pdf of an FBI filing receipt for one of my clients monthly FPS returns, then, they should get a life!
the ''if they want to hack you, they will'' adagio must be taken seriously, not that they will do anything with your accounts but fraudsters are very meticulous in stealing identities and piecing together info from social media plus what they have stolen to then get cash or hold you to ransom.
don't forget that all these cloud companies have outsourced parts of their maintenance or development to 3rd world countries where periodically info is sold.
a valid NI number is a valuable piece of info for someone.
the easiest way in which they can get into your dropbox is when one of your clients clicks a dodgy link and presto, they are in...
we all use cloud stuff but as I have worked in an IT company i know how careless they are with this as it does not bring in money and the risk can be ''mitigated''
Alternative
Why not consider a hosted solution - Hosted Desktop or Hosted Accountants are the two I looked at.
Went with Hosted Desktop and very happy with the decision.
Dropbox security - specific issue ...
Security on dropbox seems a never ending saga - and yet people continue to use it for client data
http://www.esecurityplanet.com/mobile-security/ibm-exposes-critical-drop...
http://securityintelligence.com/droppedin-remotely-exploitable-vulnerabi...
The above are specific scenarios, but can you guarantee that they will not affect your/clients use of the product?
Believe there are also issues with Box
Sugarsync
Another vote for Sugarsync. The big difference (vs Dropbox) is that there are no dedicated folders you have to use. You just nominate existing folders (such as \documents\client) which is very flexible.
Captain
Dropbox + Boxcryptor
I'm currently trying out Dropbox plus an encryption program called Boxcryptor. Once set up you have access to a drive on your PC that syncs with your Dropbox account, but Boxcryptor encrypts all the files (in the background) before uploading to Dropbox and decrypts them when you want access. So I'm not concerned with any question marks concerning Dropbox's security as all files are stored on their servers in an encrypted format.
It's reasonably priced - the Dropbox account is £79 for a year, and Boxcryptor is free initially or around £50 pa (ex VAT) if you want to upgrade to the full version. It's a bit fiddly to set up so you may need a tech-minded friend to help you.
I've only just started using it but so far so good.
or you can keep control
Your own cloud:
https://owncloud.org/
Encrypt files:
https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/
Pricing of Sugarsync
I've had a look on the Sugarsync website and it looks as if the stored files are encrypted. But it also looks expensive if you 'fess up to being a business?
Expensive?
I guess perceptions will differ about the cost but in terms of what it does, we consider it a bargain in terms of time saved.
Captain
Q on pricing
I guess perceptions will differ about the cost but in terms of what it does, we consider it a bargain in terms of time saved.
Captain
What is the pricing structure for small business? From the website it looks as if it starts from $55 per month for business users?
I think owncloud wins on cost -
It is free!
Oh, and if you use something like Vmware, there is a prebuilt VM at
https://bitnami.com/stack/owncloud/virtual-machine
https://bitnami.com/stack/owncloud