Should You Have One Or More Cloud Services?

Cloud storage services are ready and available everywhere, featuring an abundance of providers to choose from. But is it better to use one platform for all your online storage needs – or diversify your content throughout more cloud services?

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both options to find out which is a better fit for cloud consumers.

The Pros & Cons of Singular & Multiple Clouds

Using one cloud storage platform for all data is a common way to utilize the cloud. And there are three major benefits to this method. We all know what a pain it is to remember login information for multiple sites; so one cloud storage provider means just one set of information. This makes accessing data easy whether it’s from a computer, tablet or smartphone.

No more sticky notes or notepads full of usernames and passwords. With only one cloud account, data is always in one place. Documents, photos, music and various files can all be found through one login to one platform. Many companies even offer keyword search to help  find what you need fast.

Using only one cloud provider like Box or Google Drive also means a consistent subscriber experience. Once subscribers learn the commands, keys and settings of a service, you will easily navigate around.

More cloud accounts mean more services to learn and use, which takes additional time and effort. Some might have better features than others, potentially causing frustration and confusion. Now to be fair, there is a downside to using just one cloud for storage.

The Risks and Costs of Cloud Storage

The major risk that comes along with storing everything in one place is that it could all be lost if the platform is hacked or experiences a data breach. Hacks and breaches are more common than ever, and keeping everything stored in one place is like keeping a whole life’s savings in one place. If something happens to the cloud in which all your content is kept, the will be huge loss.

Also,  typical users will likely need more than a provider’s basic (free) subscription. The cost is between $5 and $15 per month for individual subscriptions and triple that cost for businesses, if more storage than what is offered free of charge is required. Diversifying data in the cloud is a way to utilize all  a lot of free offerings without breaching a storage limit and having to make payments.

For international businesses that want to operate in other countries, one cloud service might not work outside of local borders. Most people think that when data is stored in the cloud that means it can be accessed from anywhere with Internet.

However, some companies do not allow access for oversea users which can be frustrating to clients or employees that work out of the country.

Having cloud storage in different countries can make the transformation from national to international company simple and without obstacles. When it comes to using more than one service, many consumers are supportive and advocate for this method as it allows them to prevent vendor-lock, take advantage of specialized storage and have more security.

Vendor-lock happens when a customer becomes dependent on the offerings and price of one service, making it difficult to switch to a competitor. Using a variety of cloud vendors will help customers develop and maintain relationships with companies across the cloud market. That way, if one has a promotion for current clients, users are included. Or if one’s prices go up, data can easily be moved to a cheaper alternative. 

Some cloud providers were developed for photos, while others for music – making better quality service for content available. Storing word documents in a service that allows them to opened and edited while saving photos on a cloud which allows for tagging and descriptions, just makes sense.

Keeping Data Spread

Like discussed before, keeping data spread out instead of all in one place is a good way to avoid losing that data in case of a hack or breach. Subscribers can keep sensitive information in a more secure cloud like SpiderOak and content that needs to be shared openly somewhere like Dropbox. It’s the both of best worlds, well because its two separate worlds, both working to the user’s advantage.

Just like having only one cloud, there are some cons to using multiple clouds too data in a lot of places, devices can make a difference and inconsistency.

Keeping content stored in various clouds could mean losing track of what is where. It can be frustrating when trying to located one document within five or six places, especially if some of them don’t offer keyword search. This could cost users a lot of time if they don’t have a good organization system for what they are storing online.

Aiming to solve this problem though is Cloudz. The service provider connects a variety of clouds so they can all be consolidated and  accessed from one place. Another problem is that some clouds are exclusive to certain devices. Some were created for iPhone and iPads while others are for use from desktop computers only. Therefore subscribers have limited access to their data depending on what device they are using.

While most companies try to make their service available on all mobile devices, there are still a lot that only offer it on certain ones. 

The overall biggest downfall of using multiple storage ports is the inconsistency from one to another. All platforms will have their own quirks, features, rules and regulations. What you can store in one, you might not be able to store in another. For example, Chinese cloud storage companies are way more strict with stored data than American or European services.

Final Thoughts

So after looking at the pros and cons of both singular cloud storage and multiple, is there a concrete answer? Concrete answers are a little hard to come up with as the cloud market is continually changing and improving. However, the title of this conclusion comes interestingly enough as the old adage — don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

This idiom support the idea of spreading your assets so if one gets damaged, they all don’t get damaged. This relates to, and possibly ends, this debate perfectly.

Individuals and businesses alike can avoid risk and take advantages of more perks if they diversify their data into a few different cloud storage platforms. In fact, 86 percent of companies globally use more than one type of cloud service. Cloudability found this out when they surveyed 3,2000 customers throughout 80 countries.

How many cloud services do you use? Would you advise other users to stick to one platform or spread out data to a few providers? Let us know in the comment section, and be sure to compare online storage prices using our chart.