What Is The Best Online File Storage Service Option for 2016

The days of storing all your important files on your hard drive or a local server (backup) are just about over. Thanks to the plethora of online file hosting programs available to individuals and businesses. Even large corporations are moving away from the local storing of files to cloud-based options. I wanted to list a few of the most popular cloud storage programs on the market. Which small businesses tend to use and then wrap up this post by sharing what I use and why. There are dozens of other services not mentioned in this post. Yet my goal here is to help make companies more efficient and stop using too many unnecessary services! Your company might be different than my conclusion, but if you have a question about what is best for your organization, let me know in the comments below.
Many of my customers are using Google’s business services called Google Apps for Work. This $5 a month per user plan comes with a business account using Gmail, Google Calendar, Photos and Google Drive (other features as well). Google Drive was far more than just a storage service. It also allowed users to create Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets, Google Forms and Google Slideshows (think: Microsoft Word, Excel & Powerpoint). It also gave users the ability to collaborate in real time instead of the need to constantly be emailing multiple versions back and forth. For my first 5 years in business, I relied on Gmail, Google Calendar & Dropbox as my 3 main programs for sending emails, scheduling appointments and storing files. When it came to Google Drive, I used Google’s Docs and Sheets very randomly at first and then more and more. I would also toss in random files into Google Drive. Google Drive became stronger and more reliable over the years. It had excellent integration with Gmail & Google Calendar, which I already used everyday. A few years ago, I got to the point that when I went to look for a file or folder, I would get slightly confused: “Did I save that file in Dropbox or Google Drive? One day I realized that Google Drive was better than Dropbox for my organization. Once I migrated from Dropbox to Google Drive, I did not look back, not even once!
I do not have a lot of experience working with Microsoft OneDrive. I do have an active account, and what I can tell is that this is a great solution if you are using mostly Microsoft programs such as Outlook, Word, OneNote and Excel. If you own a Microsoft Surface and do most of your work in the cloud, using all Microsoft products is really the easiest solution. You can basically do the same things you can do with Google Apps for Work. This is just two cents. I used Microsoft products up until about 2008 before I began moving over to Google Apps. Microsoft, for years, was way behind Google Apps when it came to cloud computing services. They have worked hard and have done a good job making a good product for small to medium size businesses. My recommendation is to again pick one cloud service.
If you own a Mac, iPad and iPhone, you also have Apple’s iCloud service. iCloud was built for personal use, not business in mind. It is similar to Google’s platform: Mail, Calendar, Files Storage, Document creation, Spreadsheets, Pictures and more. I have an Apple iCloud account and do pay a little for online storage. Yet I basically use this for personal pictures only. I do not use it for anything else. I do not think Apple iCloud is a good business solution just yet.
Dropbox
Dropbox started their online storage services in 2007. They were one of the early pioneers of cloud storage. Many of the consumers I know today have heard of dropbox and have either a paid account or continue using the “free” personal account. Dropbox has become somewhat of a “kleenex” brand name for cloud services. Dropbox is super easy to use. It is an excellent platform. There are plenty of plugins to use Dropbox with just about any device, CRM, accounting, project management and other business software out there. Up until about 2+ years ago, I used Dropbox almost exclusively for my online files. Yet I realized that Google Drive was becoming just as powerful if not more powerful than Dropbox. I was paying for both accounts, so I stopped seeing the need to use two programs. If you are using Dropbox but are closely tied to Google Apps, Microsoft or Apple’s iCloud, chances are you can simplify your cloud needs by using just one cloud storage service. Keep reading to see what I mean.Google Drive

Microsoft OneDrive

Apple’s iCloud
