Data Backup Digest

The cloud war continues to hot up. While some years back there weren’t that many companies offering cloud services, the market has seen a boom recently. A lot of large technology companies jumped on board – namely Microsoft and Google – and there have been many smaller firms giving it a crack. High competitiveness is great for the consumer. Not only does it mean that the industry can push itself to innovate, but these companies will be fighting for your cash and willing to drop the price of their services to draw you in.

Dropbox, one of the original and largest cloud providers, has done just that. Although available for free with a limited amount of storage space, Dropbox previously offered three pricing structures for individual users. They have now condensed this into a $9.99/£7.99 a month price plan that offers 1TB of storage space.

Dropbox previously only offered 100GB, so this is a tenfold increase. In a world that continues to rely on big data, this is likely going to be a move that pleases Dropbox’s Pro users. The move also positions Dropbox better closer to their competitors, many of whom have already lowered their prices in order to survive in the market.

The changes were announced in a blog post by Dropbox’s head of product ChenLi Wang. Along with the cut in pricing and increased storage, the new Pro plan also comes with a range of new features to entice consumers.

Users will now be able to make their shared folders read-only. Previously, shared folders could be altered or removed without the permission of the original sharer, a problem which has now been resolved.

For extra security, shared links can now also be password protected, ensuring only those who know it have access to the data. Users can also determine how long the file will be viewable to those who have the link.

Finally, users are now able to remotely wipe a device of the Dropbox data stored on it. If a device, like a phone or tablet, goes missing then users just need to login to their account on a computer and unlink the device and wipe the data. The data will still remain intact on the actual account, but just be removed from the missing device.

The lower pricing and the new features are available immediately. Current Dropbox subscribers should already be able to see the changes within their account.

Speaking to CIO Today, Alex Teu, vice president of business at storage company Oxygen Cloud, told the site that he believes “cloud storage is racing to zero [price]” and that “the traditional storage players are realising it’s no longer enough to just offer storage.”

It remains to be seen who will be the next cloud provider to drop their price now that Dropbox has joined in.

Michal Gideoni, director of product management for Microsoft Office, believes that “storage is just one piece of the pie” and that he believes they are offering a lot more features compared to their competitors. Perhaps features, rather than pricing, will be the next big innovation for cloud providers.