Best business cloud storage | TechRadar

If your small business has graduated from the living room to a fully-fledged company, one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make is where to store your data. 

Synching data to the cloud offers several benefits to your business: if a device breaks down or is lost it’s easy for employees to re-download their information. It’s also an effective way to collaborate and chare files with others.

In this guide, you’ll discover some of the very best cloud storage providers for business. These organizations offer features over and above those usually available to personal cloud accounts such as much larger storage quotas, granular control of file sharing and even sub-accounts for different employees. 

1. SpiderOak

Strong security

Central device management

No collaboration options

SpiderOak is a collaboration tool, online backup and file hosting service founded in 2007. The platform allows users to access, synchronize and share data using a cloud-based server.

The company places a strong emphasis on data security and privacy. They offer a cloud storage, online backup and sharing service which they claim uses a ‘zero knowledge’ privacy environment. This means the client is the only one who can view all stored data. Not even SpiderOak themselves have access to your data.

SpiderOak’s main focus is on privacy and security. As a result, the tool itself has a very basic design. This makes the admin console and all central device management very straightforward to use. They also include a handy drag and drop feature for organising files.

From the centralized device management dashboard, users can access settings for all applications such as backup selection and sharing. The dashboard also allows users to manage their accounts, set group permissions and gain insight into usage.

Prospective business clients will need to contact SpiderOak’s Sales Team directly to obtain a quote. 

Online commentators have observed that SpiderOak lacks many of the collaboration tools available from other cloud storage providers.

2. Tresorit

14-day free trial

End-to-end encryption

Several enterprise packages available

Tresorit is a cloud storage provider based in Hungary and Switzerland. It was founded in 2011. The provider emphasizes enhanced security and data encryption for businesses and personal users alike.

If you are concerned with ensuring that your stored data is kept safe online then Tresorit is the service for you. This provider allows you to keep control of your files through ‘zero-knowledge encryption’ meaning that only you and the chosen few you decide to share with can ever see your data. Your Tresorit account can also be secured by two-factor authentication login.

Tresorit’s ‘Small Business’ Packages starts at $24 (£18.64) per month for teams with 2-9 users. This includes 1000GB encrypted storage, secure access on up to 10 devices and synching of existing folder structure. 

Tresorit’s ‘Business’ plan begins at $30 (£23.30) per month for businesses with over 10 users. This comes with extras such as digital rights management, remote wipe and phone support.

The ‘Enterprise’ tier weighs in at $35 (£27.18) per month for businesses with more than 100 users. Extras included in this are personalized staff training, admin API and on-premises deployment. In order to sign up for this plan, users need to contact Tresorit directly.

All tiers come with a 14-day free trial.

The extra security offered by Tresorit makes it relatively expensive compared to other cloud backup solutions. However most users will probably appreciate the greater piece of mind and extra features offered by Tresorit.

3. Egnyte

15-day free trial

Excellent integration

Some loading issues

Egnyte was founded in 2007. The company provides software for enterprise file synchronization and sharing. 

Egnyte allows businesses to store their data locally and online. All types of data can be stored in the cloud, whilst data of a more sensitive nature can be stored on servers on-premise. This makes for better security.

Business teams can work how and where they want with an easy to use collaboration system through Egnyte’s content services platform.

Egnyte integrates with popular industry applications such as Office 365. This allows both remote and internal employees to access all files with ease.

Egnyte’s ‘Office’ plan starts at $8 (£6.21) per employee per month. This covers 5-25 employees, 5TB of storage and 10GB max file size.

The ‘Business’ packages starts at $15 (£11.65) per employee per month. This includes 25-100 employees, 10TB online storage and 10GB max file size.

In order to take advantage of their ‘Enterprise tier’, which includes over 100 employees, 25GB max file size and unlimited storage, you will need to contact Egnyte directly.

Egnyte offer a 15-day free trial for all packages.

Users have observed that some files, such as photos, can take a long time to load.

4. Dropbox Business

Easy to use

30-day free trial

No online editing tools

Dropbox is one of the oldest cloud storage providers. It was founded in 2007.

To date it is one of the simplest storage providers to use. Dropbox can be installed on most computers or devices and syncs easily between apps. The app can store almost any kind of file while never having any issues with compatibility. You can drag and drop files into the desktop app with ease.

You can also share files with other users easily through links. These can be shared with users who don’t have a Dropbox account. 

As Dropbox has been around for a long time it integrates with most other apps such as MS Office and Slack.

All files and folders can be shared with other users even if they are not part of your account. These users will be limited to their own plan’s storage limits.

Dropbox Business can be connected to your personal account so you can access all your files in once place.

The dashboard is simple and easy to use. From here, admins can see how many team members they have as well as any pending invites. You can restrict sharing, and allow/block commenting as you see fit. The dashboard allows you to access settings and to monitor usage.

Dropbox offers a 30-day free trial which asks for your payment details. Your plan will automatically upgrade after the trial at which point your card is charged.

The ‘Standard’ plan starts at $12.50 (£9.71) per user per month starting at 3 users and includes 3TB storage.

The ‘Advanced’ package begins at $18 (£13.98) per user per month with unlimited storage.

In order to subscribe to the ‘Enterprise’ tier, users will need to contact Dropbox directly.

Some users have commented on the lack of online editing tools. 

5. Box for Business

Easy to use interface

Reasonable pricing

Read-only sharing

Box is a cloud content management and file sharing service for businesses. It was founded in 2005.

Box offers strong management capabilities and security features. The interface is made for ease of use and is simple to navigate. 

The dashboard allows access to settings, files and folders. Admins can manage all users, monitors activity and control sharing.

As Box has been around for a while, it is supported by a number of mainstream apps such as Google Docs and Office 365. The Box Sync client is available from the Downloads page for Mac and Windows. There’s also an official Android client.

Box offers a 14-day free trial for all packages. Their ‘Starter’ plan is priced at $5 (£3.88) per user per month. This includes 100GB secure storage, 2GB file upload with a maximum of 10 users.

The ‘Business’ plan starts at $16 (£12.43) per user per month which includes unlimited storage, 5GB file upload and no maximum number of users.

The ‘Business Plus’ package is $27 (£20.97) per user per month and comes with unlimited storage, 5GB file upload and unlimited external collaborators.

In order to subscribe to Box’s ‘Enterprise’ plan, users will have to contact them directly for a quote.

If you choose to share files external users are limited to read-only access.