'Net Features : online storage

LiveDrive Unlimited Storage

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:25:00 GMT

Online storage is an industry forecast to grow 500% by 2012 according to Gartner. On the bleeding edge of this market is UK-based LiveDrive - a company that is now offering its customers unlimited online storage. Yes, you read that right - unlimited.

Andrew Michael, CEO, commented, "60% of people now have more than one computer. With a growing number of people having more than one device - such as a desktop computer, a netbook and PDA - it no longer makes sense to store files individually on each device. People want all their files together in one place that is accessible from any device."

LiveDrive is unique amoung online storage providers in that they offer customers a software application that can be installed on any computer. This provides the users with access to their Livedrive storage - the same way a USB or external hard drive might work.

Livedrive is offering the unlimited storage plan for $129.95 a year, but has a starter account which is limited to 100GB for $55.95 a year. Perhaps a little pricey for those just getting started, unless you really need it!

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The Cloud Conundrum

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:10:00 GMT

A survey released by RackSpace shows that businesses just don't undertstand the concept of cloud hosting. The findings show that more than half of UK (57%) and US (58%) businesses are unaware of the term.

Perhaps part of the confusion resides in the dual nature of the cloud, meaning both businesses and consumers use the cloud, but do so in different ways. Businesses use the cloud to host applications, and consumers tap the cloud to use those applications.

Most UK businesses (43%) defined cloud hosting as 'remote and multiple servers accessed via the internet.' In the US this was also the most popular answer (29%). Other responses from the UK included 'applications via the internet' (31%), 'virtualisation' (14%) and 'online storage' (8%), with a similar pattern being found in the US. However 27% of UK businesses 'don't know how they would use cloud hosting as part of their IT mix'. A third of US businesses (33%) agreed with this statement.

Lew Moorman, chief strategy officer at Rackspace Hosting, said: "Cloud technology is ideal for the current economic climate, but it is vital that businesses understand how it can best serve their organisation. At Rackspace we want to provide clearer guidelines on how they can get the most out of this technology as a matter of urgency. That is why we are launching a new cloud clinic web site."

Fortunately for those that have yet to grasp the "cloud" and its benefits for businesses and consumers, RackSpace has created a "cloud clinic" to "demystify the cloud".

Microsoft SkyDrive Opens Up

Administrator — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:14:00 GMT

Microsoft is releasing its Skydrive service from beta today, increasing storage space to 5GB, up from its previous limit of 1GB.

The online file storage service launched in beta last year, but is now openly available to the public. Users of the service can choose to make uploaded files privately, share them with select contacts or even open them up to completely public access. In addition to upping the storage and dropping the beta tag, Skydrive is now available in many more countries outside of the U.S.