The cloud is increasingly supplementing conventional data carriers. But which cloud storage is free? How does the cloud work? We provide answers and present the most popular cloud storage platforms.
The popularity of cloud storage platforms
When it comes to filing management, the cloud has simplified things many times over. Conventional data carriers such as hard drives or other removable media are gradually being replaced, and many users are jumping up and using cloud storage. It is not only the case in the private sector, but companies are also increasingly relying on the possibility of storing and retrieving data in a decentralized manner.
However, the technology also offers other benefits. One of the biggest advantages is that cloud operators can make computing power available to users. It is of particular interest to companies because they can access it at any time as required without having to upgrade their own IT infrastructure. In this way, resource-intensive projects that lead to performance peaks can often be cushioned just in time.
As a result, the market for cloud storage services is growing continuously. Among them are, of course, not only small data centers but also famous global players. Some of the offers are free, but some are limited. The most widespread cloud storage solutions for business are:
- Box
- Oracle
- iDrive
- Mega
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
- pCloud
- Microsoft OneDrive.
Why do some companies choose a virtual data room?
As digitization progresses, which has been further accelerated by the effects of the pandemic, companies are feeling increasing pressure to migrate their data and work processes to the cloud. However, many, especially medium-sized companies, depend on their traditional on-premise constructs with on-site servers.
They fear for the security of their data and shy away from giving it to strangers. In addition to medium-sized companies, it is primarily strictly regulated sectors such as legal representation, consulting, or finance that have concerns about the integrity and confidentiality of their data in the cloud because they are subject to particularly strict regulations. The requirements for data protection in these business areas go far beyond those of the GDPR. Public cloud services are easy and convenient for sharing files, but they don't offer the required level of protection for every data type and can even violate compliance guidelines.
Depending on the needs, cloud storage and file-sharing services are insufficient here. The situation is different with a virtual project and virtual data rooms. This digital platform organizes business transactions like IPOs, M&As, real estate deals, startups, etc. Another example is a data room for due diligence. The software provides a secure workspace for the company audit. These not only offer necessary functions such as access restrictions and protection against dissemination and logs but also the level of security that makes secure content collaboration – the secure exchange and sharing of sensitive documents – possible.
Neither outsiders nor the cloud operator can access the data rooms secured this way. The data room customer alone has the key to the data. Thanks to the advantages of confidential computing, unauthorized access by third parties (including the provider) can be reliably prevented, and thus even the strictest data protection regulations can be observed. In addition, this technology also reliably protects metadata. Public cloud services can still be used to exchange non-critical data digitally. However, personal data and company secrets only receive the necessary protection in highly secure data rooms, which use confidential computing to stop unauthorized third-party access and the abuse of privileges.