Apple Inc., iCloud and iCloud Inc., iCloudDrive Compelling Features

Imagine all your computer and mobile devices being in sync—all the time. Imagine being able to access all of your data at any given moment and being able to share that data—photos, videos, e-mails, contacts and documents—with your friends, family, and coworkers instantly. This is what cloud computing promises to deliver. Now imagine, there are two different iClouds promising to deliver Cloud to you through immensely different services in both the way the service is delivered as well as what you get and what you can do with the iCloud service itself.

iCloud Inc., iCloudDrive

Not to be confused with Apple’s iCloud service, iCloud Inc., a company founded in 2000 has been a strong player in the cloud space over the last decade. iClouds client base consists of large enterprise, government and healthcare clients and today iCloud is growing in the home user and business market with their all-in-one iCloudDrive service. iCloud’s commodity story consists of investment in an enterprise grade infrastructure that consists of several server farms providing full redundancy that meet stringent compliancy regulations. Through the iCloud series, authorized users unite globally through reliable backup of data that delivers low-cost operational efficiencies, automation and convenience. The iCloud series consists of medical imaging iCloud WebPACS, document management iCloudDOCS, full data back-up and recovery iCloudXchange and all-in-one iCloudDrive.

iCloud’s iCloudDrive service provides endless possibilities for both individuals and businesses. For individual home users, iCloud offers iCloud Backup, a simple secure on-line backup with unlimited storage for all your digital files for only $5.00 a month at $60.00/year. There are no limits on the number of computers you backup, the size or type of file you store or the amount of files you want to store. With iCloud Backup unlimited service, you can put as much information as you want on your iCloudDrive without worrying about it.

iCloud Briefcase is a personal storage space for your files and it comes with a generous 2 TB (2,048 GB) of storage space. iCloudDrive supports XP, Vista and Windows 7, Mac OSX, iOS, and Linux and you can download mobile apps to sync to your device of choice whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Android or BlackBerry. iCloud Pro Suite is a way for home users to back-up, share and access their information anywhere and it comes with a generous 5 TB (5,120 GB) of storage for only $17 a month at $204.00/year.

With iCloud offering Terabyte (1,024 GB) service at Gigabyte rates, it makes iCloudDrive exceptionally attractive for businesses. iCloudDrive for Business Express provides 2TB of service for 3 users and iCloudDrive for Business Standard provides 10 TB (10,240 GB) of service for 10 Users. You can easily add additional users and Terabyte storage space for what works out to be pennies/GB/year.

iCloudDrive brings powerful backup, collaboration and sharing features to businesses and with Terabyte storage, you get incredible value and flexibility that brings endless possibilities. iCloud provides a 14-Day Full Money Back Guarantee with all iCloudDrive services and additional discounts are available for longer term commitments. All your information is backed up automatically with up to the last 30 versions of any file being saved for you. iCloud claims “so many more features, so much more space”.

Apple Inc., iCloud

Earlier this year, Apple renamed and replaced their previous MobileMe service with the name iCloud, one that was purchased from a Swedish company called Xcerion who in turn renamed their iCloud service to CloudMe. Apple service MobileMe offered features that were rewritten as apps that integrate with the apps on iOS devices and computers (Mac or PC). The service is a way to provide Apple customers a way to sync and wirelessly push their information across their devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac or PC.

Apple iCloud provides 5GB of storage for free for your mail, contacts, calendar, photos, videos, and your device back up settings. Additional storage can be purchased in tiers of 10GB (15 total) for $20/year, 20GB (25 total) for $40/year or 50 GBs (55 total) for $100/year. 50GB is the maximum limit you can purchase.

When you snap a photo, you can save it and sync across your computer and other iOS devices, but your last 1,000 photos and videos taken on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch are kept for 30 days. Apps, books and music purchased from iTunes can be stored but for music that isn’t purchased from Apple, Apple iCloud allows you to match up to 25,000 tracks for up to 10 devices per account and for $25 a year. iTune purchases don’t t count against your 5GB limit.

Apple integrates iOS and OS X app integration so you don’t have to choose which Apple ID or MobileMe account you want to run with, they can be consolidate into one. Your history, device settings, new photos, and purchased music, apps and books will be backed up automatically. Apple claims “it just works”.

Two different iCloud’s, two different services

The iCloud services are vastly different, and each one of them has a lot to offer. The service you choose will depend on whether you are an Apple user or not, the amount of information you want to store, how you want to access your information and your budget. Each of them has strengths but to help you choose the right service to manage your information, we wanted to assureyou that iCloud Inc., is of no affiliation with Apple Inc.,iCloud.