Category Archives: Cloud Storage
Right Move Storage, LLC and VaultDrop, LLC Announce Free … – Yahoo Finance
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Today, Right Move Storage, LLC and VaultDrop, LLC announced the implementation of their new Free Unlimited Cloud Storage product for all customers at properties operated by Right Move Storage. By combining traditional self storage with free unlimited cloud storage, Right Move Storage is accommodating all of their customers' needs by providing safe, secure cloud and physical storage.
This is a ground-breaking idea, said Darren Kelley, President of Right Move Storage. "It was first presented to me by A.J. Esmailzadeh, Co-Founder of VaultDrop, LLC. We began working together to offer storage owners a unique product which creates incremental revenue and profit for the owner, while also providing an amenity to help them gain and retain customers."
Positive Customer Impact Many Right Move customers have already benefited from using their Free Unlimited Cloud Storage provided by VaultDrop. "Customers are having fun with our managers learning how to use their new services. It creates more interaction and gives the customers a little 'Lagniappe' - that's Cajun for a 'Little Something Extra,'" Kelley says. Customers may use the cloud storage to store their photos, music, documents, and videos for sharing with friends and family. They also receive their storage invoices and other information from the property directly to their VaultDrop account. VaultDrop can be accessed through the web as well as through its user friendly mobile app.
Owner Revenue Growth "Since implementing VaultDrop across our self storage portfolio, our properties are realizing two to three additional rentals per month and generating incremental revenue, much like our tenant insurance program. We see this as a competitive edge, and as the industry becomes more homogenous, Free Unlimited Cloud Storage offers owners a product which sets them apart from the competition."
About Right Move Storage Founded in 2013, Right Move Storage, operating under the trademark Right Move Self-Storage, is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate operating company specializing in the development, acquisition and management of self-storage facilities nationwide. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the Right Move Storage team manages multiple properties nationwide. The Company is soliciting acquisitions nationwide of single facilities, multi-store portfolios, projects in development, and the management of existing operations.
About VaultDrop, LLC Launched in 2016, VaultDrop provides secure unlimited cloud storage. Customers can store their pictures, videos, documents, and all other files and selectively share them with others. Every VaultDrop account is encrypted and its contents are divided and stored across multiple independently operated servers via https://private.me/ to provide superior protection from hacking and other threats. Cloud Storage usage is increasing at rates up to 30% per year, and VaultDrop allows innovative Self Storage companies to partner in offering Free Unlimited Cloud Storage to their customers for the total storage experience.
For more information:
E-Mail: contact@vaultdrop.com Website: https://www.vaultdrop.com
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170214006133/en/
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Right Move Storage, LLC and VaultDrop, LLC Announce Free ... - Yahoo Finance
Private cloud: Orchestration, storage and containers – ComputerWeekly.com
Cloud, to most people, means public cloud infrastructure, such as that offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
In contrast, private cloud tends to refer to on-premise infrastructure that functions in the same way as public cloud, by offering access to resources on a service-based delivery model.
A collection of our most popular articles on datacentre management, including: Cloud vs. Colocation: Why both make sense for the enterprise right now; AWS at 10: How the cloud giant shook up enterprise IT and Life on the edge: The benefits of using micro datacenters
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So, what is involved in building a private cloud and how does it impact on storage in the datacentre?
Before we dive into how a private cloud can be implemented, we should take a moment to review the features of cloud in general.
Cloud, whether private or public, is expected to meet the following criteria:
In a private cloud, some features seen in the public arena are not necessarily required.
Some organisations may choose not to implement billing (or even chargeback), for example, as the financial mechanism for directly charging business units for their usage may not exist.
The idea of unlimited is typically not a private cloud requirement, as IT budgets are generally restricted, whether that refers to the spending of the business or the IT department.
A key part of private cloud is the orchestration framework that provisions resources based on customer requests. These include open-source platforms such asOpenStack and CloudStack, proprietary tools such as VMwares vRealize Suite Cloud Management Platform and the upcoming Azure Stack, Microsofts on-premise automation suite implementation of public Azure.
There are also platforms, such as Mesosphere, Kubernetes and Docker Swarm, that provide open source solutions that go part way to implementing private cloud.
Finally, we should mention that suppliers, such as Zerostack and Platform 9, that are looking to optimise some of the tools weve already mentioned.
When we look at the way storage is consumed by these platforms, we see a wide variety of implementations.
Possibly the most mature and easily understood storage options are for VMware.
VMware vSphere, which is a core component of the vRealize Suite, supports a range of existing block (Fibre Channel, iSCSI) and file (NFS) based systems. Supplier support is widespread, and once storage is configured into the infrastructure, it can be provisioned out automatically as part of virtual machine creation.
OpenStack has a range of storage support options, described as projects, that cover block storage (Cinder), file (Manila) and object (Swift). Each project defines a set of APIs that suppliers can code to, automating the provisioning and mapping of their storage platforms to instances (virtual machines) by the OpenStack platform.
The same level of application programming interfacesupport is also available within Kubernetes, enabling the provisioning of persistent storage to container instances.
This can include traditional protocols (such as iSCSI and NFS), but also scale-out storage such as GlusterFS and Ceph. Theres more of an assumption here that users need to manage their storage manually (perhaps simply as local JBODs), but storage hardware suppliers are starting to add support for Kubernetes volumes. One example is NetApp with their Trident project to automate storage provisioning.
Docker deployments tend to use storage provisioned to the host running containers, which could be a local file system or block devices mounted to the server. Flocker is an open source tool that enables the automation of provisioning block devices to containers through a set of APIs for which suppliers can provide support. Through their EMCCode efforts, Dell EMC supports connectivity for many of their existing storage platforms to a Docker ecosystem. Much of this work is best efforts and only community supported, so perhaps not suited to critical production environments.
We can see from the way storage is consumed by private clouds that there are certain differences that must be considered. The most obvious is that of automation. Storage is expected to plug into orchestration frameworks in a way that makes it easy to auto-provision logical unit numbers (LUNs) and file shares through the orchestration tools.
This automation represents two issues.
First, there is security. Can storage be presented from a pool of resources, or does the orchestration platform get access to the whole storage array or environment?
Second, what controls are in place to limit the consumption of storage resources? We can envisage a scenario where the on-demand capability of private cloud could exhaust the storage capacity available.
This issue takes us on to the issue of maintenance.How easily can a storage solution be expanded or replaced?
Typically, storage migrations are implemented as big projects that consume significant resources. This doesnt arise as an issue in the public cloud environment, where storage issues are obfuscated from the customer.
How storage migrations be managed in private cloud?
As instances are created or destroyed, new applications can be provisioned from new storage capacity. That leaves the migration of existing instances to take care of. These may have to be migrated offline or through some sort of snapshot process. Either way, the introduction of a new storage platform needs to be implemented with a minimal impact to service.
Its worth noting that most of the above issues havent been fully resolved. As a result, an entire storage platform may be presented to a cloud solution, for example, rather than shared with other users because the required security controls dont exist. This may be practical in large environments, but could cause issues for smaller IT organisations.
Picking a supplier or storage product requires thought about the orchestration platform and supportability from the storage supplier.
Older (and more likely to be classed as legacy) platforms will be harder to integrate, as they usually have no native automation capabilities. These tend to have been added on later. NetApp SolidFire is an example of a storage platform that provides a native API, with supported integration into all the common provisioning platforms.
An alternative is to go for a scale-out storage solution, either an open source platform or one from an SDS provider. Ceph is one solution directly integrated into OpenStack that can provide object, block and file support.
There are also scale-out solutions like StorPool (block storage), StorageOS (specifically for containers), ScaleIO from EMC, StoreVirtual from HPE and of course native Virtual SAN from VMware.
The advantage of using these platforms is that storage can be deployed as part of the server, rather than having dedicated storage software. Integration of solutions like Virtual SAN, for example, are directly supported within vSphere, enabling policy-based provisioning of storage for virtual instances.
The options for building out private clouds and persistent storage are wide ranging and potentially confusing at first glance. But remember the main tenets of public cloud (elasticity, on-demand, multi-tenancy and service-based) for a good basis to help choose the most appropriate solution for your private cloud infrastructure.
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Private cloud: Orchestration, storage and containers - ComputerWeekly.com
Which cloud storage service is the best value? – Which? (blog)
Insufficient storage isnt something anyone wants to see pop up on their phone. One app, photo or song too many and youll get the dreaded message. And thus begins the arduous task of deciding which pictures you can live without, or asking do I really need that app and when was the last time I listened to that album?
You could delete half your gallery or you could use the cloud. Cloud storage is like having a portable hard drive with you wherever you go. You cant see it, but you can store photos, documents, videos and your contacts on them. Having your files in the cloud means you can free up space on your phone or tablet since you dont need two copies of the same file.
As long as you have an internet connection you can access your files whenever you like and from whatever device you like. Take a photo on your phone and upload it to the cloud something that often happens automatically and you can log in to your storage on a PC or a different phone to look at the same picture. Theres no need for any cables or copying of files.
Best Buy cloud storage services back up with confidence
There are many cloud storage options. Apple, Google and Microsoft all have their own cloud services, but are they the most cost effective? Weve looked at several of the most popular options to see which offers the best value for money.
Apples cloud storage is the cheapest 50GB storage you can get, costing 79p a month. As with most Apple software youll need one of its own products to get the most use out of it. You can upload from an iPhone, iPad or Mac and you can access your iCloud on any of those devices as well as Windows PCs. Android phones and tablets arent supported.
iCloud Drive is an extension of iCloud that lets you work across devices. You could start a document on your iPad at home and pick up where you left off on your Macbook at work.
One of the most important, but often overlooked, factors of cloud storage is the maximum file size you can upload. iCloud wont let you upload any files larger than 15GB. But, wed be surprised if anything on your phone or Mac was bigger than that.
At 15GB, Google Drives free storage is the most generous. Its also the cheapest for 100GB storage, particularly if you pay yearly where the price drops to 15.99, which works out at around 1.33 a month.
Unlike iCloud, Google Drive works across most devices including Windows Phone and Apple devices. If you use Android you get the added bonus of unlimited photo storage that doesnt eat into your 15GB.
As well as uploading photos and your contacts you can also make use of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and more. Its like a paired-back, but still comprehensive, version of Microsoft Office. Since these documents are saved to the cloud you can work on them on multiple different devices.
The maximum upload size for any file onto Google Drive is 5GB much smaller than iCloud.
Dropbox offers the lowest amount of free storage at 2GB, but its one of the only storage options to work on Blackberry phones and Linux computers.
2GB may not sound like much, but there are plenty of ways to get free upgrades. Recommending a friend to the service gets you an extra 500MB and activating the camera upload feature bags you 3GB. You can get 250MB just by taking a tour of the basics of Dropbox. These bonuses cap at 16GB, which is better than Google Drive.
You save offline copies of your work to edit whenever you like. These can then be saved back onto Dropbox and shared with other people. You can set limits for how long people can access your shared files, too.
The maximum file size you can upload to Dropbox is 20GB, which is big enough for most files other than lengthy, high-resolution video.
If your storage requirements are bigger than most, then Microsofts OneDrive is your most cost-effective option. 1TB of storage is 5.99 a month. For the money, you get all that storage and the full Office 365 suite of programs. If you pay for a full year its even cheaper at 59.99.
Microsoft applications are the gold standard when it comes to word processing and spreadsheets, and tying them together with cloud storage means your documents are available wherever you have an internet connection. OneDrive works across Apple, Google and Microsoft products, too.
Its not all good news though, OneDrive used to be better for people who didnt want to spend money. The free limit was 30GB, now its only 5GB. The maximum upload size is 10GB.
Currys has some impressive packages if you need a lot of storage. Its Knowhow 200GB storage is the cheapest available at only 1.25 a month, although you do need to pay for a full year (15). Move up to 2TB and Knowhow is still good value at 30 or 2.50 per month.
The 200GB package lets you back up two devices and access the files stored on other phones and tablets. Youll need to move up to the 2TB package if you want your files to sync between computers though.
There is no limit to the size of the files you can upload to Knowhow cloud storage as long as it isnt bigger than your allowance.
Best Buy mobiles phones find handsets with micro-SD card slots for extra storage How we test cloud storage what factors does our testing look at? Best laptops capable computers with as much storage as you need
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Which cloud storage service is the best value? - Which? (blog)
Cloud Storage Reviews for Website Builders | Best 10 Webite …
1
Description: Top security features, unlimited storage space and 24/7 support.
9.8
2
Description: Competitive prices, automatic backup, and easy setup process.
9.7
3
Description: Includes user friendly interface with top-notch Blowfish encryption.
9.3
4
Description: Multi-device sync capability, unlimited storage, and high quality tech support.
9.2
5
Description: Powerful recovery options and smart compression set in place.
9.1
6
Description: Offers any size business optimal storage and simple file sharing services.
9.1
7
Description: Unlimited storage and back up solutions. Also has external drive backup options.
9.1
8
Description: Secure and easy to use browser interface and restore manager
9.1
9
Description: Best for sending large files and storing a lot of data in cloud storage.
9
10
Description: Unlimited plans and synchronized filing available for multiple devices.
8.9
When you start building a new website, integrating cloud storage is probably not something youve considered, but the truth of the matter is that cloud storage services are useful for everyone. There are plenty of options when it comes to web builder hosting plans, and cloud storage is something you should take into consideration when deciding which plan to choose. The primary goal here at Best 10 is to make it easier and less stressful for website builders to find exactly what plan works best for their project.
Cloud storage is an alternative option for storing documents, photos, and other files. Cloud storage allows you to save and access your files from nearly any location, as long as you can access the internet. Fromthis standpoint that you no longer have to worry about losing files from your computer if you encounter a virus, natural disaster, or damaged hard drive. By using remote servers outfitted with the best encryption software, your files will always be safe and secure.
Lets face it; cloud storage was not originally developed with website building in mind, but it can be one of the best tools website builders can take advantage offor the additional piece of mind. For instance, owning aserver doesnt necessarily guarantee that youll be optimally set up or provided with all of the services. For example, the server company that you may be using may not provide backup capabilities for your server. By using cloud storage, you can create the redundancies you need as well as backups for your server and any projects you are working. By choosing a cloud storage company that fits your needs, you can ensure that you are getting the security and safety features that are necessary to keep your business running as smoothly as possible. It also makes it much faster and easier to access any and all of your files from virtually anywhere, as long as youre able to connect to the internet.
Cloud storage services can be directly linked to your server very easily. This makes it incredibly easy to automatically back up any projects you are currently working on, as well as creating backups of any websites that you have created that have already gone live. Some things to consider when choosing a cloud storage provider are compatibility with your server, as well as the amount of storage that is available. Youll want a plan that has enough storage space to back up your entire server in case disaster strikes. One of the biggest fears with website builders who have their own servers is something happening to that server. This could be anything from a simple hard drive failure,virus, or something more severe like a fire or other natural disaster destroying the device. By syncing your server with a cloud storage system, you will always have the backups that you need should you face unfortunate circumstances.
Weve made it easy for you to view the 10 best cloud storage providers for website builders right here, as well as providing links for you to see full reviews on each of them. There are different criteria for which they are rated; from technical support and customer service to cloud storage space and features. Take a look at the overall score to get a general idea of what each company is all about, and take a look at the reviews and forum to get more detailed information from actual customers as well as experts in the field about each provider.
We use a very thorough ten-point system to check the quality of each and every review before we post them onto our website. By using this process, were able to maintain consistency, helping to ensure that we provide all of our readers with the information that they need to choose the best cloud storage in the most efficient manner possible. In addition to the reviews given by experts in their field, we also have an open forum for any customer who has used the service so that they can provide their own personal review. This not only gives you a look at what is presented from both a technical standpoint and user-friendly guide but also acts as a way to give an entirely unbiased opinion. Also, we have an easy to use comparison tool that helps you look at several different cloud storage providers at the same time. This allows you to see how much space you get for a price, as well as the reliability of the cloud storage company. An overall five star rating, with five being the highest, is used for each cloud storage service, which means a quick glance can give you a general idea of what each company can provide.
Lets take a closer look at the different categories that are covered in our reviews
Weve all heard the phrase you get what you pay for, and its no different with cloud storage. There are plenty of free cloud storage options, but you wont get much storage space with these and may miss out on all kinds of great features that can help with website building. And if you choose to sign up for one of the less expensive plans, you may not be getting your moneys worth. When calculating the best value for your budget and projects, you must not only consider how much storage space you are allotted but also take into consideration the companys reliability and thinks like safety and security as well.
The uptime and reliability of a company are determined based on statistical data. Most of the time, a cloud storage company will have a 99.9% uptime. It is not uncommon for some companies to fall below this level on occasion, as unexpected circumstances come into play. This is something that should be considered when choosing a cloud storage company, especially when incorporating this data into website building.
If you ever have a problem or need a question answered, its imperative that youre able to reach a customer service representative. All cloud storage companies are rated in how quickly someone responds, whether or not a problem was resolved, as well as how fast this was completed, in addition to the helpfulness of the representative. This test is conducted using phone calls as well as with online chats.
Technical support and customer service are often lumped into the same category, but we understand the difference between the two and how important it can be to your site to have the best of both. Technical support is the team you want to talk to when you have a more complex problem and need to speak with someone who knows the ins and outs of the programs and services. These people must not only be knowledgeable and efficient, but friendly and helpful as well.
The number of features offered by any cloud storage company is not as important as the quality of each one. You dont want to sign up with a company that offers a lot of different features if those features arent any use to you. Instead, choose one that focuses on the features you need while still being a good value. Some things that you might want to consider are the ability to change your storage space amount, as well as the encryption software that is used to maintain privacy.
Cloud storage space is one of the most important categories to take into consideration when determining which cloud storage company is the best for your website building needs, especially when considering the value. Its always better to have more storage space than you think you need, especially when it fits into your budget. Many companies will allow you to move to the next tier if you unexpectedly fill up your current plan, but you may incur extra fees by doing so.
Cloud storage should not be an overly sophisticated service to use, even if you are not very technically proficient. To determine a services ease of use, we evaluate them from both a technical standpoint as well as from that of a general user.
The overall rating given to each cloud service company is calculated based on the individual scores of the previously mentioned categories. This allows readers to quickly weed out any service that may not fit their needs and can make it simpler to look more closely at a few companies to determine which would be best.
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Cloud Storage Reviews for Website Builders | Best 10 Webite ...
How Google’s Chromebooks conquered American schools: Cheap price, easy cloud storage – The Herald-News
NEW YORK The Google Chromebook, a type of stripped-down laptop, isn't a practical mobile device for many people mostly because it basically turns into an expensive paperweight whenever it can't find a Wi-Fi connection.
Yet Chromebooks have defied expectations and made major inroads in an unexpected environment U.S. schools.
In retrospect, that shouldn't be too surprising. Chromebooks are cheap and easy to manage, making them popular with budget-constrained schools with limited tech-support staff. And Wi-Fi is now common enough in U.S. schools and homes to make an internet-dependent device practical for students.
Google doesn't want to stop there. It's releasing new models in partnership with Samsung that are designed to appeal to a broader range of consumers. They have several tablet-like features, including a stylus, touch controls and a 360-degree hinge that allows you to turn the screen faceup. One starts selling Sunday for $449; a more powerful version comes out in April for $100 more.
Google and its manufacturing partners are trying to shed the Chromebook's perception as underperforming budget devices. But even with premium models, expanding beyond U.S. schools won't be easy.
CHROMEBOOKS GET SCHOOLED
For personal computers and tablets, Chromebook's share of the U.S. education market was 49 percent last year, up from 40 percent in 2015 and 9 percent in 2013, according to IDC figures released this week.
But education accounts for just 14 percent of the 110 million devices shipped in the U.S. last year and Chromebooks make up just 9 percent of that broader total. Their numbers are also low abroad, even in schools.
The Chromebook's popularity in U.S. education is also largely limited to grades K-12, analysts say. Macs and Windows laptops are still dominant on college campuses.
ROUGH START
Chromebooks use a lightweight operating system designed to get people online faster, without having to wait around for the computer to start up. Much of the heavy lifting on Chromebooks gets done on Google's remote servers, so Chromebooks themselves don't need fast chips or lots of storage.
Early on, though, that made Chromebooks seem cheap and underpowered, which "soured consumer expectations right off the bat," IDC analyst Linn Huang said.
Online storage for photos and documents online was much less common in 2011 when Chromebooks launched, so their limited local storage was initially unappealing. And the few apps available for Chromebooks didn't work offline, at least at the time.
DIFFERING NEEDS
But what constrains consumers can actually be liberating in education. Most kids don't need laptops on the bus or other locations where they can't connect to Wi-Fi. And they don't miss business software like Microsoft Office; Google's online apps for documents and spreadsheets do just fine for homework.
"What surprised us was how quickly it took off in education," said Kan Liu, who oversees Chromebooks at Google.
Apple's iPad was hot at the time, but Google sold the Chromebook on convenience. They're easier for classrooms to share; just sign in with a Google account, and a student's apps and documents instantly appear. Teachers also have online tools to lock down what apps and sites students can use.
And with models available for less than $200, schools can get a few Chromebooks for the price of an iPad or a rival laptop.
"It allows us to put more devices in students' hands," said Aaron Slutsky, chief technology officer for McDowell County Schools in North Carolina.
FAR FROM UNIVERSAL
But Chromebook's success story in schools is largely an American one, and it's likely to stay that way. Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa notes that Chromebooks are useless in China because the device depends on Google services that aren't available there. And in emerging countries, where a budget laptop would be ideal, she said internet access isn't reliable enough.
Even in the U.S., the iPad is better for many creative tasks such as recording and editing movies. Students studying engineering, robotics and graphics won't be able to use Chromebooks to run the kind of specialized software that's available for Macs and Windows laptops.
"But that's not needed for 98 percent of our students," said Tracy Dabbs, coordinator of technology and innovation at the Burlington-Edison School District near Seattle.
Many school districts limit Apple and Windows computers for the students who specifically need them, then provide Chromebooks for the rest. McDowell County, for instance, has 5,500 Chromebooks, 1,200 iPads and only 100 Macs and 200 Windows PCs.
RIVALS STAGE A COMEBACK
Last year, Apple gave iPads in schools some Chromebook-like features unavailable to the general public. That includes ways to let multiple people use a single tablet and management tools for tech-support staff. A new Classroom app lets teachers control what apps students run and track their progress.
Apple also provides classroom tools for teachers and students. Free e-books offer teachers step-by-step guides on using iPad apps and curriculum suggestions for everyday subjects. A separate app lets kids learn programming using the same language developers use to build iPad apps.
Meanwhile, Microsoft announced last month new online apps and management tools for schools, along with Windows PCs priced similarly to Chromebooks.
BEYOND SCHOOLS
Huang said some businesses are giving Chromebooks a second look, especially in retail, banking and other settings where people share computers.
But in many offices, the lack of business software such as Office is a major hurdle. Google's alternative lacks many advanced capabilities found in Office, and habits are hard to change.
Google is trying to make Chromebooks more palatable by letting them run Android apps designed for phones and tablets. It's testing this capability on a handful of Chromebook models, including the new ones from Samsung. That makes it possible to install Office, Adobe Photoshop and many apps on a Chromebook, though these tablet versions have limited features compared with versions for Macs or Windows laptops.
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How Google's Chromebooks conquered American schools: Cheap price, easy cloud storage - The Herald-News
Apollo Cloud review: A personal cloud storage alternative to iCloud Photo Library – Macworld
The brainchild of storage experts Promise Technology, Apollo Cloud ($249 on Amazon) was designed with photo sharing in mind. Apollo Cloud combines a 4TB external hard drive housed in a white case with encrypted, always-on cloud connectivity and free apps for macOS, Windows, iOS, or Android devices. The handsome hardware is quiet and aesthetically complements existing Apple products.
Measuring 5.6 x 7.5 x 2.4 inches and weighing 2.64 pounds, Apollo Cloud plugs into existing network routers with the included gigabit ethernet cable, and theres also a USB 3.0 port on the back for transferring or backing up files to another drive. A white status LED on the front glows or changes colors based on current activity, but can be dimmed or disabled entirely from the app settings.
Apollo Cloud puts a generous 4TB of internet-connected storage available from all your Mac and iOS devices.
Once connected, Apollo Cloud automatically showed up on the network, and all you have to do to get started is create an account with an email address and password. The first person to register a device is the owner, who can then add up to nine additional users, each with their own private member storage areas with as much or as little space as you choose to assign them.
The beauty of this is that users can then share their storage with others, either as guests or with custom permissions. (Worth noting: Public file links are limited to 1GB, with a maximum file size of 30GB.) In my case, I set up accounts for every member of the family, configuring each device with automatic Camera Roll backups. With read/write access enabled, I could then view everyones media in a separate folder, and import content into macOS Photos without needing each individual device.
Regardless of where your photos came from, Apollo Utility for Mac displays them in a single unified view, from most recent to oldest.
There are a couple wrinkles with this strategy: First, Apollo Cloud doesnt retain the original IMG_XXX file name when backing up a device, instead replacing it with a seemingly random series of 32 letters and numbers. Second, there are self-imposed limitations on how files can be accessed from the Mac, which requires the often-clunky Apollo Utility application.
One pet peeve: Apollo Cloud changes the original file name when backing up the Camera Roll of iOS devices.
For example, theres no way to mount an entire Apollo Cloud drive on the desktop, where it can be accessed like a normal Finder volume. This is perplexing, considering the device offers mounted SMB shares for use with Time Machine, as well as Apollo Anywhere, an isolated partition available to all users.
On the iPhone, Apollo Cloud keeps all your files within reach, even when your home computer is turned off.
On the plus side, you can drag-and-drop files to or from Apollo Utility, as well as use keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste. By default, Apollo Cloud adds a sync folder on the desktop, which can be used to create your own personal Dropbox where the same data resides on your computer and available from cloud storage.
The apps feature one-click options for viewing all photos or videos stored on the drive sorted by descending date, which includes those shared by other users. Video playback on iPhone and iPad was quite fast and looked good even when transcoded to 720p, which is done from the device side on cellular connections to optimize data consumption.
With no monthly fees, Apollo Cloud makes a compelling alternative to iCloud Photo Library, especially for families who want to back up photos and videos from all their devices in a central place.
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Apollo Cloud review: A personal cloud storage alternative to iCloud Photo Library - Macworld
Top 3 Cloud Storage Priorities in 2017 – Talkin’ Cloud
In recent years, cloud storage vendors have been popping up to address the growing demand for cloud storage solutions, a market that is expected to reach $74.94 billion by 2021, up from $23.76 billion in 2016.
One of those vendors is Zadara Storage, a six-year-old company based in Irvine, Calif., that offers enterprise Storage-as-a-Service, and has partnerships with cloud service providers including AWS, Microsoft, and Google. Its Partner Network includes cloud resellers, integrators and VARs.
A report released this week, commissioned by Zadara, asked IT decision-makers from the U.S., U.K. and Germany to weigh in on their cloud storage strategies. It found that above all else, decision-makers are looking for cloud storage that offers scalability to fit their organizations needs.
As future requirements are unknown, buyers will be attracted to vendors that impose the fewest limitations on scalability, with the lowest entry price point and the highest levels of security and availability, according to a paper by IDC analysts Silvia Cosso and Nick Sundby.
Heres a look at 3 of the cloud storage priorities of IT decision-makers in 2017:
One-third of IT decision-makers (33 percent) said they plan to deploy cloud storage that scales up and down according to their organizations needs. The ability to scale is essential for workloads such as ecommerce, online marketing, mobile applications, and high-performance computing, according to IDC.
[E]nterprises need flexible storage that can stretch and reduce almost in real time, without having to plan ahead, and without the risk of buying unneeded capacity, IDC said in a data sheet about Zadara Storage.
As Talkin Cloud has noted before, service level agreements (SLAs) for cloud storage are important because they set clear expectations for cloud storage customers. According to Zadara, 17 percent of decision-makers it surveyed want to obtain stronger SLAs for their cloud storage vendors this year.
Thirteen-percent of survey respondents are looking at deploying new storage hardware in 2017.
According to IDC, 26 percent of Zadara storage customers opted for its on-premises option, which uses dedicated Zadara hardware, in 2015. In 2016, Zadara's On Premise as a Service(OPaaS) offering grew to 40 percent of overall recurring revenue.
IDC remarked in 2015 that this segment wasgrowing faster than Zadaras cloud business, and proving especially popular in Western Europe, where data sovereignty is of paramount importance.
Hardware spend coupled with public cloud storage will enable organizations to establish a hybrid approach which can ease compliance and regulatory concerns.
Talkin' Cloud Wants to Know...
In conversations with your own customers, what are their cloud storage priorities for 2017? How are you evolving your service offerings to meet those needs? Let us know in the comments.
This article has been updated to include figures for Zadara's OPaaS offering in 2016.
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Top 3 Cloud Storage Priorities in 2017 - Talkin' Cloud
Save 98 Percent on 1TB of Lifetime Cloud Storage on Zoolz – Tom’s Guide
Storing data in the cloud used to be prohibitively expensive, but as prices have fallen and Internet speeds have gone up, cloud storage has become more routine. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google have also popularized cloud storage via services like iCloud, One Drive, and Google Drive, respectively.
While all of today's services are great, few of them offer as much value as Zoolz. For a limited time, you can buy a 1TB lifetime cloud storage plan with Zoolz for $39. The plan normally costs $3,600, so you're saving 98 percent off the full price.
Zoolz's Lifetime plan comes in two buckets: You receive 500GB of Instant Storage and 500GB of Cold Storage. It can take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours to retrieve data placed in Cold Storage, so you'll want to reserve that for data that you don't need on a daily basis such as backups and photo or video archives. Data placed in Instant Storage can be accessed immediately via the Zoolz app.
Feature-wise, your data is protected using 256-AES encryption and you can download the Zoolz software on two machines and restore from a third device.
The Zoolz 1TB Lifetime Cloud Storage plan is only available for a limited time, so be sure to lock in your savings before a potential disaster strikes.
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Save 98 Percent on 1TB of Lifetime Cloud Storage on Zoolz - Tom's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cuts Prices On Virtual Machines And Cloud Storage In Australia – Lifehacker Australia
Microsoft has reduced the price of some virtual machine (VM) instances and storage offerings on its Azure public cloud platform. Here's how much you will save.
We confirmed with Microsoft Australia that the price reductions apply to the local Azure regions.
Microsoft offers a number of different types of VM instances globally. The ones that will be discounted are the Compute Optimised F Series (up to 24% off) and the general purpose A1 Basic VM instances (up to 61% off).
Azure F Series virtual machines are optimised for compute intensive workloads. They are suitable for scenarios like batch processing, web servers, analytics and gaming. Here's how much the F Series instances cost for Azure in Australia using CentOS or Ubuntu Linux (regions labelled):
A Basic instances are suitable for development workloads, test servers, build servers, code repositories, low-traffic websites and web applications, micro services, early product experiments and small databases. It's the more economical option.
Here's how much A Basic instances cost for Azure in Australia using CentOS or Ubuntu Linux (regions labelled):
You can compare some of the prices here with our condensed pricing list from October. It seems that Microsoft has made the pricing for the F Series and A Basic more uniform between the East and Southeast regions.
Azure Blog Storage, which is used for streaming and storing documents, videos, pictures, backups and other unstructured text or binary data. Microsoft is offering a price reduction of up to 26% for Hot Block Blob storage and 38% for Cool Block Blog storage.
You can visit the Azure Pricing page for all the details.
[Microsoft Azure]
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Sometimes in life you lack perspective. Sometimes youre just too close. To the situation, to the person. Sometimes untenable attitudes or ideas become normalised. Like theyve always existed, like they cannot be questioned. This is the way it is and has always been. In cases like these it often takes a fresh set of eyeballs, a rogue outsider. It takes that radical voice in the crowd to shatter the illusion. The emperor has no clothes. Today I am those eyeballs. Today I am that outsider. Today I am that voice in the crowd.
A smartphone without a big whack of mobile data is like a sports car without petrol in the tank. Almost everything we do with our phones requires an internet connection, so there is no point cheaping out on a plan with puny data inclusions nowadays. The good news is that data keeps getting cheaper. The rise in popularity (and sheer volume) of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) has put crushing pressure on the price we pay for each gigabyte, and if you're not regularly checking your options and switching then there is a good chance you are missing out. Here are the best deals.
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Microsoft Azure Cuts Prices On Virtual Machines And Cloud Storage In Australia - Lifehacker Australia
Fox Film picks Brazilian cloud provider – ZDNet
The Brazilian office of Fox Film has hired local vendor Mandic Cloud Solutions for the provision of cloud storage services.
The provider of facility, Mandic, is a company that was previously known as one of the country's main enterprise email service providers. It reinvented itself as a cloud services firm and has since been acquired by Riverwood Capital.
Fox Film is using Mandic's cloud storage for its financial data and was implemented in one month. According to IT coordinator at Fox Film, Arlem Silva, the platform has already delivered results.
"There was a 70 percent improvement from the stability, information access and security aspects, both from the IT and business standpoints," Silva told Brazilian portal Baguete.
"Before the implementation, reports would be generated in about half an hour and today the same information can be obtained in 10 minutes," the IT executive added.
Silva also highlighted the ease of access to information from the company's headquarters in London as well as partners, which is now possible with the new set-up, in a more agile and transparent manner.
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Fox Film picks Brazilian cloud provider - ZDNet