The cloud drive to rule them all.
Backup, sync, on-line cloud drive services — which one is right for you? Spoiler: pCloud
The dawn of cloud back up was a welcome relief for many of us in the creative and tech world that have dealt with large files since the widespread popularity of spinning hard drives that would eventually fail. The idea of having a constant Internet connection with the ability to backup or sync data is a dream come true.
The “cloud” (what is the cloud?) has been available for several years now and managing your digital storage there has become conventional.
As a media agency / consultant I deal with video, photography and large art files that are sometimes larger than 4 GB. This can be an issue for some platforms or services due to file size limitation due to your account type or possible specific drive formatting limitations. this issue, I believe has been resolved by most or at least some available services.
It is 2020 and I truly believe if Elon Musk and his team can create an autonomous vehicle, launch and land a reusable rocket multiple times and build a Gigafactory in 168 days, then there is surely enough brain power at Apple or Google to easily produce a cloud backup service that is:
- easy to subscribe to
- easy to install, set up and configure
- reliable, simple to use, secure and fast
- beautiful and usable interface
- cost effective and guaranteed
- works for corporate or power user
QUESTION: WHY IS THERE NO CLOUD BACKUP PLATFORM THAT CHECKS ALL THESE BOXES?
THE RUNDOWN
iCloud
PROS
- Works specifically in the Apple ecosystem (Con for some as it’s only available for Mac users)
- Supposed to be seamless with apple product environment
- Secure? Two layer authentication, etc.
CONS
- It’s a complete abomination, not intuitive AT ALL
- improper use (easy to make mistake) results in data loss, redundancy of files
- web iCloud version user interface is so basic it is ridiculous
- one view; cannot change to list or choose smaller icons, no search function
- unclear nomenclature and difficult to understand some features
DropBox
PROS
- None
CONS
- terrible User Interface
- difficult to find actions
- very expensive
- “free” version is such a small amount of space it is useless
- You cannot accept shared data from sender unless you upgrade!
*Note that dropBox has been around since the beginning and they have not improved on their service, UI or experience at all (from my perspective).
Google Drive and Stream
PROS
- Very Reliable
- Good features with an almost OS feel
- Average priced but require G Suite subscription (Personal has 15GB)
CONS
- Sharing and privilege features are poorly set up and hard to understand.
- Glitchy and do not work consistently.
- Not fully compatible with Mac*
- Super slow upload and download speeds
- Can’t play some files types directly in G Drive (seriously!)
- Once you’re committed to the service it’s very difficult to disconnect
- change products or modify platform with poorly documented or difficult to find information (difference between drive and stream?)
One Drive
I have limited experience with this product but am not a fan based on what I know.
pCLOUD
PROS
- easy to subscribe
- easy to install, set up and configure
- reliable, simple to use, secure and fast
- beautiful and usable interface
- cost effective and guaranteed
- works for corporate of power user
Yes! That’s the list from the beginning of this article. The team at pCloud has created a product that checks all the boxes. From the minutest detail; screen startups, documentation and support to their pricing, up/download speed, power features, easy sync and share, and secure Crypto Drive the experience is beautiful. It just works.
I’ve used all the services above. I was hesitant to try a new product but after a year of using pCloud I am a very happy user. Do yourself a favour and check it out.
FILE TRANSFER SERVICES
These are great free services that allow you to send large files to anyone using an e-mail address. I thought they’d be worth a mention.
- WeTransfer
- WeSendIt
- Firefox Send (Rigth from your Firefox Browser)
- pCloud Transfer (Just found this :)
I’d love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to connect!
