Category: Software

The Future of Online Storage

In the past year, online storage has really come into its own. Services like DropBox and Google Drive have risen in popularity. Apple seems to have finally struck a chord with its cloud offerings in the form of iCloud (after two relatively lukewarm previous cloud and online-storage related attempts). Businesses as well as consumers are more and more moving their data to online storage Websites.

Like most areas of tech, online storage is constantly changing. Today´s online storage landscape will undoubtedly give way to something new entirely.

So, what does this sudden upswing in online storage popularity mean, and what´s likely to happen given other tech trends?
Let´s take a look at some of the likely trends in the future of Online Storage:

  1. Smartphones and tablets will drive online storage services: One of the reasons online storage has taken hold is because of the availability of apps for mobile devices. Any new competitor to the online storage field will need to provide access not only for a variety of desktop operating systems, but for all of the major mobile devices, as well.
  2. Apple and Google will extend their battle to the online storage arena: Accordingly, that battle between Apple and Google in the smartphone arena will heat up in online storage. One or the other will have to offer true support to the other platform if they want to get ahead. This is part of the reason that third party solutions like DropBox have so quickly captured the market share: Google and Apple don´t play together nicely.
  3. Legal, confidentiality, and compliance concerns will make online storage even more secure: As legal, healthcare, and financial firms all turn to online storage providers, they will be putting serious pressure on to make sure that those systems have truly world-class security. The rest of us will sit back and reap the security benefits.
  4. Other cloud applications will integrate with online storage: Enterprises have been using cloud computing applications for a few years now, but with the exception of web-based email consumers have been slow to adopt. Online storage may well be the gateway consumers need to open up to other cloud applications.

The wide open marketplace and emerging online storage technologies of today will eventually give way to more uniform markets tomorrow. In the meantime, consumers will continue to demand more and more from their online storage services, driving service levels higher and increasing functionality.

Choosing the Right Personal Content Management App

The area of online storage has dramatically expanded in the past several months to encompass a more robust theme: that of a personal content management. The idea that you can create a repository of your personal files and access them from any Internet-enabled device is the next logical step in cloud computing.

Yet, deciding which Personal Content Management App is the right choice for you can be a challenge. It really boils down to what you want to accomplish with it, and how you want to use it.

Let´s look at a few common scenarios, and see what app makes the most sense:

  1. You want to share your personal content with the world. Whether you are a social media addict or whether you just want to be able to provide easy access to your content, an App like Pinterest is probably your best bet. With Pinterest you can gather all sorts of data – photos, videos, and other file types, and post them to your “pinboards.” Other users can then peruse those boards, and you can even share your pinned items via Facebook or Twitter.
  2. You want a place to put things for later use. Some of us are constantly on the go. You might be out to lunch with a client who then recommends a Website. You don´t want to take the time right then to bring up the site on your smartphone, but you don´t want to forget about it either. Evernote lets you save Web pages, create audio memos, record videos, and more. It helps you organize all of those “I should do this later” tasks and put them into a central repository.
  3. You need to create and modify files from multiple locations. For many, the idea that you can create a file at home and then access it from a café on your tablet is an attractive proposition. It might be that you are involved in a creative profession and want to be able to work from multiple places and devices, for example. Dropbox is ideal for this kind of user, as its seamless integration into the desktop as well as other Internet-enabled devices makes this type of use quick and easy.
  4. You´re an Apple aficionado. Apple has tried to get into the cloud storage business several times, but they´ve finally done it successfully with iCloud. iCloud lets you store files, data, and music and then access them from a desktop (including a Windows PC) or your Apple devices. If you have multiple Apple devices in your household, iCloud might be a good option for you.
  5. You´re in business and need to collaborate. Some Apps are designed with business users in mind. Often, a team needs to be able to collaborate on a project, and have access to common resources. Box frees businesses from the requirements imposed by network storage, and lets business users access their data from just about anywhere.

As time goes on, consumers will find more and more creative and innovative ways to use Personal Content Management Apps. Really, we are just in the early stages of what could be a world-changing phenomenon.