Business cloud storage offers convenience and extra features over and above personal cloud storage options (including boons such as granular control of file sharing, and vast amounts of capacity for storage).
Moving an organization to the cloud allows staff members to easily share files for online collaboration. Furthermore, if business data is synced to the cloud, an employee losing or destroying a device is no longer a crisis, because no data is actually stored on it.
This August 2024, we’ve picked out the best business cloud storage options – so you don’t have to. Whether you’re running a small company or if you’re responsible for a global organization, one of these tools will sate your need for cloud storage and collaboration.
We've also featured the best cloud document storage.
The best business cloud storage service of 2024 in full:
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Best business cloud storage overall
Dropbox is a veteran cloud storage service that prioritises being intuitive, providing apps across a wide variety of platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux machines, as well as Android and iOS devices.
It isn’t just platform support which is wide-ranging, either, but support for the storage of different file types – Dropbox can store near-enough any file you can think of without falling foul of compatibility issues.
As mentioned, user-friendliness is a strong suit and one of the main reasons it makes our list of the best business cloud storage solutions. It’s possible to drag and drop files into the desktop app with ease, and a snap to share files with other users via simple links (even if they don’t have a Dropbox account themselves).
Furthermore, extra functionality is provided for businesses in the form of Dropbox Spaces, which are collaborative workspaces that take the ‘shared folder’ concept to the next level. Dropbox Spaces are powered by machine learning, offering a raft of organizational tools.
Dropbox Transfer is another important feature for businesses, allowing you to easily send large files (up to 100GB) securely online, and HelloSign has recently been adopted as the default eSignature solution in this cloud storage service.
Dropbox integrates with other popular apps including the likes of Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and Slack. Another handy touch is that Dropbox Business can be connected to your personal account so you can access all your files in one place.
The Dropbox dashboard is a streamlined and user-friendly affair. Admins can use this to restrict sharing or block commenting as needed, and monitor usage of the service throughout the business.
All of this makes us confident in naming Dropbox our top-rated business cloud storage solution.
Read our full Dropbox cloud storage review.
Best unlimited business cloud storage
BackBlaze is a storage operation that specializes in one particular thing – backing up your precious business data. It’s not about collaborating over files, or syncing files across different devices or platforms.
The service can handle web-based restore operations of up to 500GB – which is impressive compared to rivals – and can facilitate a restore by sending you a physical hard drive with your data on it via FedEx (with the data encrypted, of course).
BackBlaze’s Business Backup service offers unlimited backups, with no limit on total capacity or file size, and works continuously in the background to keep all your data backed up. File version histories can now be maintained for a year, or indeed forever (at an additional cost).
Overall, this is a sterling solution for defending against potential data disasters, even if it's not at all designed to be an all-in-one business collaboration solution.
Read our full BackBlaze review.
Best business cloud storage for sync tools
Egnyte takes a different approach to cloud storage, using a hybrid model. In other words, businesses can store data in the cloud, but more sensitive information can be stored locally in on-premise servers.
This means you get all the convenience of the cloud, while benefiting from the better control over security that on-premise delivers - not forgetting compliance issues too). For this reason, Egnyte's a cut above any personal cloud storage solution, and you won't find it in our guides aimed at just anyone.
Business teams can work how and where they want, thanks to a user-friendly collaboration system via Egnyte’s content services platform. Moreover, the service promises to help mitigate the typical risks which come with the likes of BYOD in business, offering granular permissions and AI-powered policy enforcement.
As you might expect, Egnyte provides a host of integrations with many big-name applications including Microsoft 365 and Salesforce, delivering additional levels of flexibility for businesses who use these popular third-party apps.
That’s backed up with plenty of oomph in terms of reporting, with the service promising enterprise-wide content insights.
The ‘Enterprise’ price plan is the top-tier offering, suitable for businesses with over 50 staff members. It gives each employee 50GB of online storage space, advanced content protection, as well as coverage on the data governance and compliance front.
Pricing isn’t given for this tier, with the expectation being that you'll contact Egnyte to discuss your particular needs, which will dictate the cost of the contract.
We can only imagine that it's not cheap, but you'll fail to find a household name provider with the same business-led feature set.
Read our full Egnyte cloud storage review.
Best business cloud storage for encryption
Tresorit is a cloud storage provider that offers end-to-end encryption for your data, as well as the ability for users to easily share files, and collaborate online with each other. The service allows for accessing files across any device or browser, so users can grab the file they need when on the move.
Thanks to the tight encryption and security implemented by Tresorit, employees won’t need to use a VPN when remotely accessing sensitive data.
Furthermore, Tresorit’s Admin Center allows for enterprise mobility management features and enforcing policies such as two-factor authentication. If a mobile device is lost, files can be remotely wiped; as you might have guessed by now, Tresorit places a major emphasis on security.
The ‘Business’ plan is for companies who have 10 or more employees, although there is a ‘Small Business’ plan (for firms with 3+ staff) which gives you the basics including file sharing via encrypted links, managing user groups with security policies, and 1TB of online storage.
Tresorit's top-tier offering is the ‘Enterprise’ plan which is for businesses that have 100+ employees and offers numerous additional benefits including a fully tailored package, data residency options, staff training, and more.
Read our full Tresorit cloud storage review.
We've also featured the best free cloud storage.
Business cloud storage FAQs
What is Hybrid Cloud storage?
By Chris Greenwood, Managing, UK&I, NetApp
“Hybrid Cloud Storage is a mix of public, on-premise, and private clouds with a data center that ultimately means ease of use for the end-user.
A hybrid cloud strategy provides businesses with greater flexibility by moving workloads between cloud solutions as needs and costs fluctuate.
For us, when a Hybrid Cloud is combined with the Data Fabric, the infrastructure is elevated to a new experience; bringing together the best of public cloud and private cloud for a consistent user journey.
We find that organizations that use Hybrid Cloud increase productivity, maintain simplicity, and deliver more services at scale."
How to choose a cloud storage service for business?
Florian Malecki, International Product Marketing Senior Director at StorageCraft gives us his thoughts
"Organizations are often unclear about the best way to keep their files and systems safe, but there are plenty of preventative measures that can be taken to avoid the costly risk of downtime.
Arguably the most important factor is backing up and recovering data quickly and efficiently. That is where cloud storage comes in.
With most cloud services providers, companies can tailor coverage to meet unique recovery and budget requirements while enjoying access to data anytime, anywhere, with instant failover in a cloud built specifically for disaster recovery.
The cloud combines low setup, management and overhead costs with high flexibility. The important thing is protecting and securing backups offsite and giving businesses peace of mind knowing that data is safe and secure.
Key factors organizations should consider when moving to the cloud are:
● Keep backups on-site and off-site. With any data, redundancy is the key. Data copies should be kept both on-site and off-site. Off-site could be in the cloud, but it could also be backup images stored on a hot-swappable hard drive that you can take to a secondary location (i.e. a “poor man’s cloud”).
● Choose a cloud with recovery options. If it’s not possible to recover data locally, organizations need to have a backup strategy in place. Some cloud services will allow you to spin up a Virtual Machine (VM), even if local recovery is impossible. For systems that have zero tolerance for downtime, a cloud-based recovery option is the best option.
● Mirror critical data. 99.999% uptime is exceptional, but nothing is infallible. It is important to remember that, while uptime is great, errors do occur, and data can be accidentally deleted or somehow corrupted. For extra critical data, it’s wise to not only backup data in the cloud, but to mirror it to a geographically disparate region for extra assurance."
How to choose the best business cloud storage for you?
When deciding upon the best business cloud storage, there are several factors you need to consider. Businesses are significant targets for cybercrime, so security should be right at the top of your list.
Most cloud providers place a high value upon their security credentials but there remain some differences between services here. Some offer end-to-end encryption, for example, while others don’t so think carefully about your security needs before signing a contract.
That brings us to the next important consideration - price. The cost of cloud solutions varies massively - and can add up depending on the type of service, the storage size, and the number of users you require. Look for deals to make sure you don’t overpay.
Finally, as a business, it’s probably a good idea to source some feedback from your employees - the people that will be using the cloud storage solution on a regular basis.
They should be able to help you come up with a list of must-haves for your cloud platform. If you consider your criteria carefully, there’s no reason you can’t find the best business cloud storage solution for your needs.
How we tested the best business cloud storage
First, we looked at the upload and download speeds available - testing actual outcomes rather than the developer’s claims. For businesses, this single factor can have a major impact on productivity.
We also considered the quality of a service's technical support. Even the slickest, priciest cloud storage solution will experience problems and customers will have issues of their own making too. At these times, it’s vital that companies can get a swift resolution to their problems. Their reputation may depend upon it.
Other credentials include security standards and, of course, cost. We take these criteria extremely seriously when writing our reviews as they could ultimately have a serious financial impact on organizations.
On the other hand, some of the above-mentioned products have excellent security credentials and offer great value for money too. That’s why they’ve made our list of the best business cloud storage services.
Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
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