Need to organize multiple cloud accounts? A cloud storage manager is what you need.
The sheer number of different cloud storage platforms on the market today is enough to make any IT manager’s head spin. We’ve put together a guide looking at the best cloud storage solutions around, evaluating each by various metrics like price, features, and support, but it’s still a lot to take in. This is where a cloud storage manager can make things a little easier.
A cloud storage manager makes it simpler for users to organize data stored across multiple cloud storage platforms. Given that different cloud storage platforms have different strengths, it is more than plausible that organizations will rely on a few different cloud storage solutions. The only problem is, this can quickly become confusing. On which cloud storage platform did you save that important file you need? The longer it takes to answer this question, the greater the drain on productivity.
The emergence of cloud storage managers exemplifies the way in which businesses are using a greater and greater number of cloud computing solutions. There are free cloud storage services, cloud backup tools, and any number of other SaaS offerings. If, after taking a look at the plethora of cloud solutions on the market today, you still have a few questions about what a cloud storage manager is, we’ve got the answers below.
As well as providing some clarity should businesses use more than one cloud storage solution, a cloud storage manager is also extremely useful when organizations possess multiple subscriptions or accounts with the same cloud storage platform.
Essentially, a cloud storage manager presents users with a clear view of all their files currently in cloud storage. This could be as part of a drop-down list or geographic overview depending on the specific cloud storage manager being used.
Individuals simply create an account with the cloud storage manager in question, before adding the relevant cloud drives. Then, users will find it relatively straightforward to move, delete or rename their files – whichever cloud storage account they are attributed to.
The increasing need for cloud storage management services is directly correlated to the growth in the popularity of cloud storage. The number of different cloud solutions being employed has grown markedly, from Google Drive to Microsoft OneDrive, including well-established players as well as lesser-known vendors like IceDrive and Backblaze.
Managing multiple cloud accounts can be a frustrating process – long-winded, and involving repetitive logging in and logging out. The best cloud storage management solutions let users view and access data from multiple cloud storage accounts as part of a single, unified management portal. There’s no need to manually switch between your different cloud accounts. With a cloud storage manager, transferring data from one account to another is straightforward.
As with cloud storage, there is a fair deal of choice when it comes to cloud storage managers. The best ones take privacy extremely seriously, so won’t save usernames or passwords for individual cloud accounts. They will enable file transfers without the need for additional downloading or uploading and should enable simultaneous syncing.
Also similar to cloud storage itself, one of the easiest ways to determine if a cloud storage manager is right for your needs is to look at the speeds it can deliver for file transfers. Although this may not be a major issue for businesses that predominantly work with smaller files, any organization that relies on large documents can find slow speeds extremely frustrating.
The price is another way to differentiate between the various cloud storage managers on the market. While many solutions do provide a free tier, these often come with monthly traffic limits, which may be an issue for heavier cloud users.
How well your cloud storage managers integrate with your other apps is another key criterion to assess. Given that many organizations use tools from a variety of different vendors, compatibility with a broad spectrum of tools is essential.
And even though we seem to live in an always-online world, there are times when an internet connection simply isn’t available. For those moments, the offline functionality provided by some cloud storage managers is a life-saver. It enables users to manually start syncing or re-arranging files and the cloud storage management service will complete the job as soon as it’s back online.
We’ve highlighted some of the best cloud storage management services on the market, assessing each by various metrics like their ease of use, learning curve, migration, and security. For us, the standout option is Azure Storage Explorer, which boasts a simple graphical user interface and first-class security credentials.
Other excellent cloud storage managers include AWS Storage, cloud HQ, MultCloud, and CloudFuze. Each of these platforms comes with its own strengths and weakness, of course, so you’ll need to examine them closely before signing up. Fortunately, even where there is no free tier available, cloud storage managers frequently offer trial periods so you can try before signing up.
Any business that has taken a glance at the huge (and expanding) cloud storage market may feel a little unsure of which one to choose. Well, with a cloud storage manager, there’s no need to choose at all. It’s possible to have multiple cloud storage accounts without dealing with the frustrations of managing multiple logins or shuffling files around manually.
With cloud storage management services, it becomes possible to gain a clear overview of all your cloud storage accounts. You can organize, delete, or add files and always remain aware of where everything is located. As long as you examine the various cloud storage managers carefully, assessing for things like price and security, you can enjoy as many cloud storage drives as you need.
