Just as Electric AI is the simplest and most affordable IT solution for your business, cloud document storage is the easy and affordable option for small to mid-size businesses when it comes to managing their files and resources. There are a variety of cloud storage solutions out there—many offer automatic sync, file versioning, and file encryption. A few others may offer extra features, including additional productivity apps, backup storage, and reliable customer service.

With cloud-based storage, small and mid-sized businesses no longer have to worry about buying extra equipment for local storage, and they also won’t need to hire extra IT specialists for storage maintenance. A cloud storage solution can take care of it all so you can focus on managing and growing your actual business.

Choosing the Best Cloud Solution

Using cloud based storage solutions is inevitable; it’s just a matter of choosing the right solution for you. When shopping around for the best cloud document storage system, consider the following:

• What cloud-based solutions are you already using, and do they offer cloud document storage for SMBs?

• Have you checked the vulnerability of your current cloud?

• What is your budget for cloud document storage?

• What types of security features do you need for sensitive files?

• Do you need a solution that allows collaboration with external users?

• Do you need additional services, such as productivity apps, backup storage, etc?

• Do you need a cloud storage solution that will work with a variety of devices and operating systems?

• How many users do you need to cover?

Understanding your current workflow and the types of documents you need to store will help you choose the best document storage solution for the long term.

The Best Cloud Storage Solutions for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

Google Drive & G-Suite: Google knows exactly how to make things easy for all, and with so many people already using Google applications, using Google Drive is a no brainer! And if you’re a small business that is already using Google apps, then G Suite is also, you guessed it, a no brainer. Google Drive has a variety of productivity apps, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms, allowing anyone to work anywhere at anytime. For small businesses, G Suite offers Team Drives, which allows businesses to create shared spaces for teams that need access to the same resources. This makes it easier for teams to collaborate, share, and store files. In addition to being a great solution for cloud document storage, G Suite also offers business-grade security so you don’t have to lose sleep over your company data being compromised.

Dropbox Business: While their automatic syncing for real-time collaboration isn’t quite as fast at G Suite, Dropbox Business has block-level file copying, also known as differential syncing. This means that only the changes made to a file are uploaded into the cloud without having to re-upload and replace the entire file. Dropbox also allows users to access and edit files any time, even if they are offline. The Dropbox Sync folder is easy to use, as if it were another folder on your computer. If there is no space on their computer, users can also access files from the Dropbox web application.

iDrive: Many small and mid-sized businesses like iDrive because it’s a hybrid cloud backup service. That means, in addition to file-syncing and file-sharing across multiple devices, all your data is backed up, too. The file-syncing storage is separate from backup storage, so you can freely work without worrying about using up your backup storage space.

Egnyte: If you’re not sure how much cloud document storage you’ll need for your business, Egnyte offers three different business plans to choose from. And because this software was designed with collaboration in mind, it’s simple to share files and folders with external users, as well as control different levels of access for both groups and individuals. Egnyte supports a variety of devices so you and your team can access files easily through mobile devices or a desktop computer.