Nine large cloud storage services to attract SMEs

Managing and maintaining storage is expensive, not to mention the growing need for more hard disk space. By using data storage based on cloud computing, business owners can leverage more attractive prices and consistently reduced costs while integrating a variety of new features from different vendors.

Cloud services, as cloud computing or cloud storage, can be valuable assets for cost-sensitive SMEs. While some larger organizations have the resources to build their own cloud storage services, small and medium-size enterprises often need to turn to some cloud storage providers for storage services that can be accessed over the Internet.

These services enable SMEs to have a high price/performance ratio, enjoy the huge IT staff and strong budget of large enterprises can have the ability. In fact, small businesses are uniquely placed to take advantage of these services because they do not have to undergo lengthy approval processes to try something new, and many cloud storage providers are targeting the SME market directly.

SMEs can use any of the following cloud storage services in minutes to improve your data protection, improve file sharing and collaboration, and cost-effectively archive your email and data for long-term retention and retrieval.

Mozy Online Backup

Data protection may be the first experience for small and medium-sized enterprises to use cloud storage, and the choice of services to provide online data protection is dizzying. Different solutions can meet the needs of the smallest business or home users to multinational groups. For example, Mozy offers two versions of the product. MozyHome is designed for home users or very small business users. It provides a small agent to be installed on a portable or desktop computer to back up changed files. The only challenge is to complete the first backup, which is a long process. After the first backup, only the changed files are routed to the Mozy data center. Users can choose to protect individual files or folders or the entire system. Every two hours, mozyhome check for any changes in the file. Changed files are backed up over the internet.

For larger businesses, Mozy offers a choice called MozyPro. In terms of simplicity, it is similar to mozyhome, but it increases the ability of backup servers and network-installed hard disks and provides modules for Exchange and SQL. MozyPro also adds management features. These management features provide better monitoring and scheduling capabilities for backup tasks. Even when using MozyPro, users can still recover their own files from the Mozy GUI.

Mozy will save multiple versions of a file for 30 days, and if you are sure you need a copy of your backup, it will provide you with a DVD to back up your data after an extra charge. Both options are very high, with mozyhome starting at less than 5 dollars a month. The disadvantage is that they are slow, which may affect your workflow during backup.

Mozy Online Backup

Data protection may be the first experience for small and medium-sized enterprises to use cloud storage, and the choice of services to provide online data protection is dizzying. Different solutions can meet the needs of the smallest business or home users to multinational groups. For example, Mozy offers two versions of the product. MozyHome is designed for home users or very small business users. It provides a small agent to be installed on a portable or desktop computer to back up changed files. The only challenge is to complete the first backup, which is a long process. After the first backup, only the changed files are routed to the Mozy data center. Users can choose to protect individual files or folders or the entire system. Every two hours, mozyhome check for any changes in the file. Changed files are backed up over the internet.

For larger businesses, Mozy offers a choice called MozyPro. In terms of simplicity, it is similar to mozyhome, but it increases the ability of backup servers and network-installed hard disks and provides modules for Exchange and SQL. MozyPro also adds management features. These management features provide better monitoring and scheduling capabilities for backup tasks. Even when using MozyPro, users can still recover their own files from the Mozy GUI.

Mozy will save multiple versions of a file for 30 days, and if you are sure you need a copy of your backup, it will provide you with a DVD to back up your data after an extra charge. Both options are very high, with mozyhome starting at less than 5 dollars a month. The disadvantage is that they are slow, which may affect your workflow during backup.

Iii. ds3datavaulting

Ds3datavaulting focus on larger midsize companies. Similar to Axcient, ds3datavaulting deploys a dedicated device to your facility. This device serves as the initial backup target for the receive backup task. Datavaulting do not need to deploy agents-all backups are agentless-making deployment easier. Once the initial backup is sent to the service, only the differential changes are replicated to the DS3 Datavault, thus helping to make efficient use of the Internet connection. Platform coverage includes most major operating systems as well as popular e-mail and database applications. If you have an uncommon operating system or database, DS3 may be your best choice.

DS3 special emphasis on quality. Its data center reaches a professional level, with a 1-tier storage system to save customer backups. This investment gives the service level agreement a sense of reality.

The capacity of a local DS3 dedicated device can save the initial entire backup and daily changes. This ensures a rapid local recovery of the most common type of recovery-the latest copy of the data. The recovery of older data can be seamlessly accessed across the Internet. Once the entire site disaster occurs, you can create a device that saves your latest backup information. The new device can be sent anywhere you plan to rebuild your server. All of these recoveries can be managed or executed by DS3 people through a simple web-based GUI.

Iv. box.net

At first glance, Box.net seems to provide basic web-based storage-a file server in a cloud. However, it extends this functionality with a collaboration tool. Box.net actually provides a "social network" for your files. Through the Web interface, you can upload files that can be shared by people within your company and with external vendors and other stakeholders. Box.net provides a collective annotation or discussion of a file. It can also save the version history of a file change.

A collaborative solution like Box.net eliminates the more than just looping e-mail attachments and saves the document one time instead. Box.net can also be used to store marketing assets such as logos and screenshots in an information base, avoiding the different parts of a file server that are dispersed in multiple versions. This collaboration is especially useful if your employees, agents, or suppliers are dispersed in different locations. With solutions like Box.net, they can now work as if they were sitting together watching the common view of an active file or project.

Box.net's simple web-based interface allows you to upload current files. At this point, you decide to share permissions for each file. Once the user logs in, they can annotate the file or modify the file using their revisions. You can even set up RSS feeds to notify you when changes occur. The result is a reduction in your saved copy of the data, less email traffic, and more time to complete documents that require multiple input points.

V. Expresso

For many small enterprises, electronic reports, specifically Excel, is the key task of enterprise applications. Companies use them to track sales and invoices and make recommendations. In fact, because customer information, project listings, and other critical business information are often kept in electronic reports, Excel is easily considered a major database application.

In fact, Expresso adds the ability to collaborate and share electronic reports. This means that data such as customer listings can be shared in real time by anyone in the company who gives access, and access can even be restricted to certain areas of an electronic report.

For example, if you are doing a nationwide sales forecast, you can create an electronic report that has an area updated by each user without having to send different electronic reports in e-mail and updating them one by one.

In addition, Expresso enables multiple users to view and update electronic reports at the same time. This solves two problems: first, it reduces the traffic and storage required by the e-mail server and, more importantly, solves the problem of ensuring that all correct edits are added to the correct document. Expresso has almost all the features of desktop Excel and will add additional Office applications.

Vi. Iron Kings Virtual File Store

With the support of Iron kings, the Virtual File Store (VFS) may be the ideal candidate for archiving inactive data (data that you still want to access but do not want to save on the local server) using cloud storage. Moving inactive data away from your server allows you to avoid the need to buy more hard disk capacity and make your backup process small and simple.

In addition to achieving cost savings, you may also have to maintain specific information based on the laws and regulations applicable to your particular industry. Using a product like VFS allows you to implement these conservation policies and avoid the hassle of managing your data internally.

VFS needs to deploy a device in your facility when working. This device looks like a file server to your users and servers. You can copy or transfer data to this device as easily as you copy and transfer it to a file server. The device then replicates the data to the cloud storage system in the Iron Kings data Center for long-term archiving and management. When storage space is needed on this device, older data is removed from the device, but it seems to your users that the data is still stored on this device. The VFS manages the transparent links that connect Iron Kings clouds.

The unique feature of the VFS is that it does not require special programs or applications to use cloud storage. Like using a traditional file server, you use the VFS cloud-based file server, but you avoid headaches such as power or management, and there is no storage capacity limit.

Vii. Iforem

Iforem takes a unique approach to data archiving-it provides permanent storage. Unlike other services, Iforem charges only one charge to the user during the lifetime of the file. This may seem a bit strange, but this approach is starting to look reasonable when you consider the use case for storing very important documents during the life of the business or at least the retention period of the document. The cost of saving the data is evaluated once during the life of the file, and the service is updated every month or year.

In addition to permanent storage options, Iforem also provides a standard monthly fee schedule. Such programs provide more storage and complete services. All storage is designed to meet the needs of archiving and information retention for small businesses. You can assign a retention model to a file so that, for example, you can save a document for 7 years and then delete it, and you can pay a fee to select files and transfer them to a permanent category.

Iforem also offers escrow Service.escrow service to enable small software developers to provide free hosting services that they pay only when the customer asks them to host the code. The cost of this service is much cheaper than that of a large company.

Viii. Nirvanix and Atempo

Nirvanix is a traditional cloud storage service that enables software companies to leverage their cloud storage backend to provide complete solutions. Nirvanix's cooperation with Atempo is a good example of this service. Atempo is a recent backup and archiving software solution for connectivity integration into the Nirvanix cloud.

Users can deploy Atempo as their own backup and/or archiving solution, but they contract to use the Nirvanix service and archive the data in the Nirvanix data center without purchasing hard disk storage locally. This allows customers to take advantage of Nirvanix best practices for storage. These best practices will protect their data and replicate the data to another Nirvanix cloud and maintain and manage the data.

This integration is another ideal way for SMEs to use the services and practices that large enterprises can afford. The integration between Nirvanix and Atempo is an example of how cloud storage is simply an extension of deployed software and practices.

Viii. Nirvanix and Atempo

Nirvanix is a traditional cloud storage service that enables software companies to leverage their cloud storage backend to provide complete solutions. Nirvanix's cooperation with Atempo is a good example of this service. Atempo is a recent backup and archiving software solution for connectivity integration into the Nirvanix cloud.

Users can deploy Atempo as their own backup and/or archiving solution, but they contract to use the Nirvanix service and archive the data in the Nirvanix data center without purchasing hard disk storage locally. This allows customers to take advantage of Nirvanix best practices for storage. These best practices will protect their data and replicate the data to another Nirvanix cloud and maintain and manage the data.

This integration is another ideal way for SMEs to use the services and practices that large enterprises can afford. The integration between Nirvanix and Atempo is an example of how cloud storage is simply an extension of deployed software and practices.

Ix. Liveoffice

e-mail may be one of the most daunting challenges facing SMEs. The broadest need lies in e-mail management. Increasing the cost of storage capacity to an ever-expanding e-mail library or the resistance to the size of a restricted email address has put ordinary business owners in a quandary. e-mail management is not only expensive, but it also costs backup and e-mail server performance. A viable option might be to leverage cloud storage providers like Liveoffice to dump the burden elsewhere.

This type of solution is simple to deploy and is built into exchange and notes using the features of cloud-based e-mail archiving: logging capabilities. The log feature tells the e-mail server to create a copy of the message somewhere when it receives or sends an e-mail message. A place can be a cloud storage e-mail archiving provider. This reduces the amount of storage on your server, but still allows users to see unlimited e-mail stores. Because access to an e-mail archive is built directly into Outlook or provided through a Web browser, exploring and retrieving old e-mail messages is quick and easy.

In addition to e-mail storage management, some institutions, such as financial services, health care services and government agencies, face regulatory requirements. The cost of implementing and complying with these regulations may be high enough for small businesses to take advantage of outsourced e-mail archiving services that can be implemented outside the company at minimal cost.