Backing Up on Cloud Storage Systems

For many professions, you need to be connected at all times, even when you’re out of town or on vacation. Thankfully, fast Internet is becoming ubiquitous all over the world, as well as cheap digital storage, allowing you to access your cloud-stored data from anywhere with a network connection.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, the cloud is a storage model in which a user’s digital data is stored and accessed online. The data, which could be anything from word documents to Photoshop files, is hosted on multiple servers, keeping your information safe and secure. Some services can also sync your storage, so if you add a file to the cloud from another computer, your primary machine will automatically download it.

Unlike a traditional hard drive, a cloud can be accessed from anywhere with Internet access and is highly reliable. While it’s a fact that all storage drives will eventually fail, it is highly unlikely an entire server network will go down. Not all cloud storage services are the same. Many will give you free storage up to a certain point before requiring a fee. Others will have advanced encryption, syncing features and codec options. If you’re a photographer, be sure to check into this as some clouds do not permit RAW images.

Dropbox and Google Drive are the big players here, having been around for more than a few years. Many third-party websites and applications are already utilizing them, making these a top contender for everyday cloud storage. There are also specialized services like AudioBox designed to keep your music collection synced across multiple devices and even clouds. For photographers, check out Mosaic (designed to work with Lightroom), Zenfolio (sell photos) and SmugMug (works with RAW through the SmugVault extension.

If you handle a lot of vital documents that require constant back-ups, consider a general back-up solution like CrashPlan and Carbonite, which offer cloud services for personal and business use. General back-up solutions use the cloud to constantly create a backup of your computer’s data, syncing everyday or every hour, however often you need. This type of service will require a lot of space, so be prepared to pay a monthly or yearly fee for storage.