More and more companies are getting into the cloud storage space. These range from tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon to smaller companies that got into the online backup space for consumers earlier like Mozy, Dropbox and Carbonite. All have their advantages and disadvantages, so you need to research what the different services offer and decide what features you need for your photography business.
Amazon
Earlier this year, Amazon announced two new mass storage plans available to their users both under the name Amazon Cloud Drive. However, one of these plans is dedicated completely to photographers. It gives photographers unlimited space for backing up all RAW file types from the major camera brands, including Nikon NEF, Canon CR2, Sony ARW and Adobe DNG as well as the standard JPEG, TIFF and PNG.
If you work primarily in one of the supported formats, this could be a very good fit for you. The price per gigabite is only $12 per year, and if you are already an Amazon Prime member, this is available to you for no extra charge. If this doesn’t quite fit your needs, Amazon also has a more general unlimited storage option for $60 per year.
At Google I/O this year, Google announced its own unlimited storage option for photos and videos. This plan is aimed more toward smartphone photographers and videographers. Because of the easy integration with Android phones, users will have unlimited space.
However, there are a few caveats. Firstly, the resolution of the stored images is limited to 16 megapixels, which is more than enough for most smartphone users. Secondly, you can only upload 1080p video. If you need uploads at higher resolutions than these, they count against your Google Drive quota. On Google Drive, users start with 15GB for free, but they can upgrade to 100GB for $2 per month or 1 TB for $10 per month. Another large limitation is that it is not a true backup, so you must manage your photos and videos to keep your files up to date.
Backblaze
Backblaze is closer to a true backup solution. And it works on all file types. While the Amazon plan offers unlimited backups, it requires the user to specifiy which files are uploaded. Backblaze, on the other hand, does it all automatically and continuously. Many companies offer similar services at a comparable price point, but Blackblaze provides a few other unique features.
If you somehow lose your files, they can be easily downloaded and reintegrated into your computer. However, if you have a catastrophic failure of some kind, this solution could take from a long time to an extremely long time, depending on your Internet connection. Instead of taking weeks to restore your files, for a fee, Backblaze can ship you a hard drive with your information on it. Furthermore, unlike many other companies, Backblaze lets you back up your files from an external hard drive that you may have on site.
If these cloud storage providers don’t fit your needs, check out Top10CloudStorage for reviews, prices and features of other services.
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