We reviewed 30 of the biggest and best cloud storage services for business so you can access your work on-the-go, keep your data secure, and have access to your latest documents wherever you are.
Our independent review for Cloud Storage (File Sync and Sharing) selected Box as the best option for businesses. Box provides the combination of excellent functionality for users, and excellent enterprise-level control. They support many different devices for sending files, syncing and accessing data on the go. Box also has good security and a great track record.
I recommend Box for small, medium and large businesses.
We’ve reviewed the dozens and dozens of different cloud file storage solutions on the market, for file synchronisation and sharing. This shortlist is the best-of-the-best - enterprise-grade solutions that are proven, well-maintained, and being actively developed. If these vendors don’t fit your specific niche, or are too pricey, I recommend you look at the longer shortlist of business cloud storage options…
The best cloud storage solutions offer great user features, strong administrative functionality for the enterprise, and excellent security. I recommend you review all three of these areas when selecting a vendor. The market for cloud storage is very crowded, and no one vendor dominates. Because of this, there are a large number of small vendors with an uncertain future. This review focuses on vendors with a strong track record, a good number of existing (paying) customers, and a strong team of people supporting, maintaining and developing the application.
Many people mistakenly assume that the most heavily encrypted data is the most secure - this is not entirely true. Data security is:
When reviewing data security, many people underrate the need for availability. However, not being able to access data when you need it, or data loss, is probably the largest data security risk in a cloud file sync and share service. It is critically important that a cloud storage service maintains backups, stores version information, has highly available data stored across multiple locations, and that there is a way to recover data if a user forgets their password.
For the best security, look for the following:
Some vendors boast client-side encryption or zero-knowledge file storage (where your data is encrypted / unencrypted on your own device). This is not always a good idea, as it can dramatically increase the risk of data loss.
Most cloud storage provides great synchronisation and file sharing, but doesn’t let you actually do work on a mobile device.
The two clear leaders in this area are Google and Microsoft, however I definitely recommend looking at the other alternatives, as they all have something to add. This is the shortlist you should look at, if you want to write and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations on-the-go:
Imagine this scenario: you’re out of the office, travelling, and an important document needs your review. All you have is your mobile phone.
These cloud storage apps are our shortlist for when you want to:
For many organisations, the type of information that staff want to carry with them is inherently high risk. It might not be feasible to store this information in the cloud.
These options provide you with mobile sync and sharing to all of your staff devices (even bring-your-own devices), without moving your data to the cloud. They work by integrating with your existing data storage, or implementing new storage within your own data center.
If you’d like to look further afield, perhaps for a cheaper price, more specific functionality, or you have a particular niche that the system needs to fit, I recommend reviewing the following vendors. These are all enterprise-grade vendors, which have got a solid review from our analysis.
