Sharing folders and files is convenient and efficient

Nowadays most of us like to get a file from one computer to another in just a few clicks. All you must do is to upload the file to the cloud and send the link to a colleague.

If they both have a specific cloud folder on their computer, just place the file in it and the folder will be synchronized. This easy sharing allows multiple cloud services. The most popular are Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. Read an overview from experts from Aliter Technologies.

Dropbox

Did you forget USB with files? That’s why Drew Houston founded Dropbox. Instead of the necessity to have a drive with you everywhere and forward your new version of a file, all you must do is to save the files to the cloud and the entire team can access them from anywhere. Dropbox can also be integrated into several other collaboration tools, making file sharing clearer.

Advantages:

Dropbox is available for all popular operating systems
flawless file synchronization between devices
integration into several collaborative applications
two-factor authentication

Disadvantages:

free version is limited to 2GB (the least of the products being compared), but by joining referral programs or newsgroups it is possible to increase the capacity to more than 16GB
personal plan doesn’t offer medium capacity – 2GB free or 2TB in Plus plan

Platform:

Windows application
Linux application
Mac OS application
iOS
Android

Application uses Spotify, Under Armor, National Geographic

The price:

Basic – free
Plus – 9.99 € / month
Professional – 16.58 € / month
Standard – 10 € / user / month
Advanced – 15 € / users / month
Enterprise – made to measure

Google Drive

Google Drive is the most frequently used cloud storage. This is especially because if you use Gmail, Android phone, or another Google service, you automatically have a free version of storage. Google Drive is one of the most used file sharing tools in teams. Storage is used by native Google apps and easily integrated into other tools.

Advantages:

two-factor authentication
15 GB free for personal accounts
extensive integration with other applications

Disadvantages:

shared files cannot be password protected

Platform:

Windows application
Mac OS application
iOS
Android

The application uses: Target, Salesforce, Swarovski

The price:

8 € / user / month
other plans are priced individually – the number of users and storage size

OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive was introduced in 2008 under the name SkyDrive. The cloud storage was later renamed to OneDrive. It offers users storage space, online tools for editing Office documents and Skype. Like Skype, the service is divided for individual and business users. For individual users, a free 5GB version and a 100GB paid version are available. OneDrive is also included with Office 365.

Advantages:

excellent tool for sharing Office documents online
quick sync
includes a native media player

Disadvantages:

annual business contract
for business plans, stored data is encrypted, but Microsoft does not clearly indicate whether the same security also applies to personal accounts – in this case, you must use Personal Vault

Platform:

Windows application
Mac OS application
iOS
Android

The application uses: Air Canada, Kraft Heinz, Polycom

Price without VAT:

Basic – 5GB of free storage is available
100GB – personal plan, €1.99 / month
Office 365 – 1TB storage is included with Office 365
OneDrive for Business 1 – € 4.20 / user / month
OneDrive for Business 2 – € 8.40 / user / month
Office 365 Business Premium – € 10.50 / user / month + includes Office applications

Interested in this article? Read the previous article of the Cloud & collaboration series: Task management tools are a useful solution for team collaboration.