Why Public Cloud Storage Services are not ready for the Enterprise
Cloud storage has now become an inevitable choice as a disaster recovery solution for the enterprise. Providers at the same time market their services as ‘replace the tape’ strategy by comparing cost, time and reliability numbers. However, like any other service, cloud has few down sides, some very critical for the enterprise. A survey by FixYa, engaging thousands of its users indicates security and reliability among the top 5 concerns when it comes to public cloud storage services; Dropbox, Google Drive, Sugar Sync, iCloud and Box.
Dropbox, the leading, cross-platform and cross-device cloud storage service with over 100 million users was marked having security concerns by 40% of those surveyed. ‘Storage limits’ came out to the second with 25% of those surveyed identifying storage costs associated with increasing limits. This was followed by ‘File Syncing Issues’ (15%) and ‘Laggy Responses’ (10%), the survey states. In the past, Dropbox has dealt with some major security issues, including compromising email addresses of a portion of its user base. Dropbox users who only rely on the service for personal use such as storing photos and media aren’t discouraged by these security concerns.
According to the survey, top complaint on Google Drive was ‘Missing Folders’ (30%), followed by Syncing Issues (20%). Despite the popularity and ease of use, Google Drive still experiences usability issues that need to be addressed. Security, however, doesn’t seem to a concern with drive. Like the drive, Sugar Sync was also reported to have some usability issues as 15% of those surveyed checked on ‘Syncing Issues’. Sugar Sync also lacks Quickbooks support making it a deal breaker for financial users.
Let’s see how Apple’s iCloud is doing on the survey. Surprisingly, iCloud came out to be the only service from the 5 surveyed having major compatibility issues. Not good news for enterprise users. 35% reported erroneous behavior of iCloud after updating to OS X Mountain Lion while 25% other reported issues syncing with non-Apple devices. 15% other also reported issues syncing in between the devices. iCloud doesn’t seem to have any security concern; however it’s not as device friendly as Dropbox.
Box, a popular cloud storage service for small businesses and currently in use at over 150,000 small/medium sized businesses was also hammered by survey respondents with 25% reporting upload issues while another 25% reported security concerns. Though FixYa clarified that the security concerns is with only free accounts and do not appear to be a problem for large-scale business accounts.
While there are some excellent Enterprise cloud storage options, the survey provides critical analysis of some of the most popular public cloud storage options available for the enterprise.
By Salam UI Haq
The post Why Public Cloud Storage Services Are Not Ready For The Enterprise appeared first on CloudTweaks.