Which cloud service should i use

The entire resources offered in the form of servers, storage, and networking are manageable either by the company or a platform provider. PaaS is also subscription-based and gives you flexible pricing options depending on your business requirements. Going through the details of what SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS may have given you a general understanding of these three cloud models.

Each of them differs and has a range of advantages and disadvantages that may or may not fit in with your business model.

By correlating each of these cloud models side by side, you could derive a conclusion on whether it suits your business requirements.

With SaaS, communication, transferring of content, and scheduling meetings are made easy. SaaS is the ideal choice for small-scale businesses that do not have the necessary budget and resources to deploy on on-premise hardware. Besides, companies that require frequent collaboration on their projects will find SaaS platforms useful. IaaS being the most flexible of cloud models gives the best option when it comes to IT hardware infrastructure.

IaaS is the right option if you need control over the hardware infrastructure such as managing and customizing according to your requirements. Whether you are running a startup or a large enterprise, IaaS gives access to computing resources without the need to invest in them separately.

PaaS is the preferred option if your project involves multiple developers and vendors. With PaaS, it is easy to create customized applications as it leases all the essential computing and networking resources.

Being a different model, PaaS simplifies the app development process that minimizes your organizational costs. Besides, it is flexible and delivers the necessary speed in the process, which will rapidly improve your development times. A typical disadvantage with PaaS is that since it is built on virtualized technology, you will have less control over the data processing. In addition, it is also less flexible compared to the IaaS cloud model. Cloud Application Development?

Take a peek into our Cloud Application Development Services now! Desktop as a Service or DaaS is desktop virtualization provided through the cloud. DaaS is similar to the server deployment done in IaaS. However, it strictly specializes to offer desktop operating systems. As mentioned earlier in this blog, according to Gartner, DaaS is expected to have the most significant growth in the coming years, analyzing the Providing device accessibility from anywhere and at any time, DaaS enables workforce mobility and enhances flexibility.

Its offerings are mostly simple pay-as-a-go subscription models which makes it easy to scale up. With DaaS, an organization can rely on data security, disaster recovery, optimum performance, cost savings, and mobility.

Enabling an easy to manage and simplified IT environment for desktop solutions, DaaS is now widely adopted amongst small businesses. The rise in remote work culture is increasing the need for streamlined collaboration and secured storage facilities. Cloud computing is one technology that has the potential to drive efficiency and opportunities for companies functioning remotely, that too without the need for significant capital investment.

When it comes to cloud storage for backups , IDrive Express provides a physical hard disk drive in case you lose all of your data, making a backup quick and painless disk image backup is also covered. For personal and professional projects, Google Drive is the natural go-to for Google Workspace and Android users, due to seamless integration and versatility.

You can use the office suite to create and store documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more; and store mobile-based high-quality photos via Google Photos. While the web interface is somewhat poorly executed and not as user-friendly as elsewhere, native clients allow Windows and Mac users easier file storage through drag-and-drop. Each subscription can be shared for free with up to five others, but everyone will have to share the same amount of storage.

Technically speaking, Nextcloud is not an online cloud storage provider on its own. Rather, it's a self-hosted file sync and content collaboration platform, which provides free software you can install on your own server, and administer cloud storage services yourself. The benefit of a self-hosted product is that you get to keep your data on your servers, offering complete control and faster performance. While this might seem intimidating for beginners, or futile for serverless users, the service offers preconfigured hardware that runs Nextcloud out of the box.

As free open-source software, you can download and install it at no cost, but need to factor in the cost of setting up, running, and administering your own servers.

However, if you already have infrastructure in place, using Nextcloud instead of a commercial cloud storage solution could save you money.

There are three pricing plans as an alternative, namely the Basic, Standard, and Premium plans, which are pre-configured and ready to go. Third-party providers can deploy, optimize, and maintain your Nextcloud installation for you, and if you have at least 50 users, you can choose Nextcloud Enterprise, a pre-configured, production-ready version.

Read our detailed Nextcloud review. Hailing from Switzerland, pCloud offers no file size limit, making it ideal for storing large media files, although there are some bandwidth limits. You can also send up to 5GB for free with pCloud Transfer, which covers all desktop and mobile platforms, and also has a web-based login. You can also spend more on a monthly, annual or lifetime basis for pCloud Crypto, which can encrypt individual files.

However, it offers both individual and business plans, and Box's pricing structure is very simple for the former. Box apps for desktop cover Windows and Mac, while mobile users can use the official Android client. With almost 15 years in the sector, Box is a mainstay in cloud content management and file sharing. Its strong points include broad management abilities and an emphasis on security, while its UI is easy to navigate, making you feel you at home immediately.

It's supported by a variety of commonly used app packages, including Google Workspace and Microsoft Read our Box review and our Box for Business review. Ever since the switch to Windows 10, OneDrive has been the Microsoft cloud storage solution of choice.

It's directly integrated into the file explorer, providing immediate access for users who want to jumpstart their online backup. There are also Android and iOS apps for mobile uploads, as well as an improved app for Mac users. As a Microsoft platform, OneDrive works closely with Microsoft , which is helpful if you're looking to boost productivity.

The Photos app can sync images across all your devices, and you can selectively sync files stored on your hard drive. The mobile app offers interesting features, such as multi-page scanning that allows you to save them as a single document, and access anywhere from any device. OneDrive has plans for home and business use, with four for home : two of these are OneDrive only, while the others incorporate Microsoft The most expensive plans also come with a one-month free trial.

Zero knowledge cloud storage pertains to encryption, which, according to SpiderOak , takes place before syncing, so it has no idea what you're storing. You're the only one who knows what's being encrypted and saved, which makes your data utterly private. There's a day free trial available, so you can see how the service works and test it before buying, and considering the focus is on security and privacy, it has a simple and straightforward interface, which utilizes a convenient drag-and-drop feature to help with quick and efficient file organization.

Read our SpiderOak review. For instance, you can store anything through the Mac Finder app, which integrates with iCloud Drive, and also sync iWork documents across all your devices, which are saved to iCloud. Read our full iCloud review.

Add in an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface, and you have one of the best cloud storage solutions. A mobile app allows uploading of files and photos, while desktop users have sync clients at their disposal. The invention of the infamous Kim Dotcom, MEGA allows you to upload files via an encrypted connection, and maintain control over your encryption key. That effectively prevents others, including MEGA, from scanning your content.

In addition, its sync client is open-source and open to vulnerability checks. For those seeking a paid option, there are four tiers ranging from Pro Lite to Pro III: the only main difference being storage and transfer amounts all four maintain the same additional features.

Read our full MEGA review. The best secure cloud storage services provide leading security and encryption , despite theoretically not being as secure as local storage. Two highly-desirable features to look for are end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge architecture : respectively meaning providers are essentially hack-proof, and that not even staff can access your data, even if law enforcement compels them to.

It's also worth looking for in-transit and at-rest encryption if end-to-end isn't offered: data is totally indecipherable even should a cybercriminal intercept it. Following an eight-year stint at ITProPortal. He has an affinity for anything hardware and staunchly refuses to stop writing reviews of obscure products or cover niche B2B software-as-a-service providers. North America. Looking for the best cloud storage provider around right now? Top Cloud Storage providers in IDrive.

View Deal. Specifications Free tier: 5GB. Storage size: 5TB. Number of devices: Unlimited. Reasons to avoid - No two-factor authentication - No small capacities available. Specifications Free tier: 10GB.

Storage size: 2TB. Number of devices: 5. Reasons to avoid - No collaboration tools. Backblaze cloud storage. Storage size: Unlimited. Number of devices: 1 Personal Plan. Reasons to avoid - No features beyond backups - One PC per account only. Icedrive cloud storage. Cleverly implemented secure cloud storage locker which is great value. Storage capacity: 5TB. Reasons to avoid - Lacks any collaboration features. IceDrive IceDrive. NordLocker cloud storage.

Specifications Free tier: 3GB. Storage capacity: GB. Reasons to avoid - You only get 3GB with free product - NordLocker app required for file sharing participants. Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage.

Storage capacity: 6TB. Number of devices: Reasons to avoid - No advanced features. Microsoft Office Google Drive cloud storage. Specifications Free tier: 15GB. Storage capacity: 2TB. Google Apps. Desire Athow. See more Cloud services news.