Cloud storage could be the perfect solution to all your storage and backup problems, but there is one specific golden rule which you need to follow when you are assessing things in this area.

You need to be very clear about what you’re looking for. Following this piece of small advice will set you up from the start to make an effective and logical choice for your specific needs and those of your family/company.

There are more factors to consider than you might initially realise. Whether you’re hoping to store films that you watch on a portable DVD or simply want somewhere secure to store files before accessing them using on the various laptops you may own, finding the optimal cloud storage to suit your requirements and pocket is something of an art form that everyone needs to get right.

Choices

Having the ability to store media and files on the World Wide Web has the potential for radically altering the ways in which we do computing. Wherever on the planet we happen to be, in whatever environment, we can access all of our movies, music and work-related files and documents through a range of increasingly available handheld devices that are always connected to the web. The amount of traditional local storage that would be required to enable that would simply be prohibitive but when data is stored to the cloud on some of the best gaming laptops, the barriers dissolve and the sky is literally the limit, provided that you can get online to access it.

But ‘cloud’ is something of a catch-all term, a buzz word these days in a field that’s hardly short on them and in fact this technology covers a staggering number of services and sites, making it somewhat trickier than expected. It can even affect your ability to find a suitable 3d led TV – after all, this next generation smart TV models come with internet connectivity and access to cloud storage.

With even each of the true cloud services having its own intrinsic pros, cons and pricing structures, and other providers of any internet service at all frequently appending ‘cloud’ to their product, making an educated choice can be bewildering to say the least.

Types

There are many different types of cloud service out there but they can generally be grouped under these headings: those that allow customers to sync and share files, those that enable users to collaborate on various types of document, those that provide tools allowing users to receive and send enormous files, those that specialise in online backup services and those that allow the storage and sharing of media like photos and music.

The whole idea behind cloud-computing is that it should make more portable and radically simplifies workflows and patterns that are already established. Here more than elsewhere in the computing arena it’s important to know what you want to do with it and weigh this against the cost. When choosing cloud storage solutions you will also need to factor in the type of laptop/PC/tablet/Smartphone you’ll be using with it.

There’s such a range of cloud computing solutions available so you can certainly find one that meets your needs as long as you go armed with a hit-list of requirements and are prepared to be flexible.