Best Cloud Storage Services for Travellers, Photographers, and Remote Workers

In the contemporary digital and remote world, more and more on the move, one of the most important decisions for travellers, photographers, and remote workers or digital nomads is choosing the right cloud storage service. Here are the top six.

Cloud storage is a digital service and space where data is transmitted, stored, maintained, managed, backed up and made available to users on the Internet everywhere worldwide.

Cloud storage doesn't rely on your computer characteristics and performance. You can upload, store, edit, download, and share files with everybody you grant access to (colleagues, clients, friends or team members).

You have a virtual storage infrastructure and interface accessible from any device and browser. The storage space can vary from a few Gigabytes to unlimited Terabytes. This makes cloud storage solutions pretty useful for both individuals and businesses. But how can cloud storage help in remote working, photography, and travel?

Cloud Storage Examples for Remote Workers and Nomads

Cloud storage lets remote workers manage their workflow and connections from home and everywhere. Like it happens for travellers and photographers, cloud storage solutions for digital nomads help them store all their photo and video files. In addition to that, what makes cloud storage services a vital resource for people working remotely are document collaboration and file sharing.

For example, cloud services such as Dropbox allow you to electronically sign any documents in addition to storing, editing and sharing them. Cloud storage solutions such as Box, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive can integrate with hundreds of third-party applications and include productivity Office apps for creating, uploading, downloading, editing, and sharing many file formats with colleagues and clients. All of this with multi-user simultaneous real-time collaboration, privacy and security measures to keep important, sensitive and private documents safe, encrypted, and protected from cyber-attacks.

Cloud Storage Use Cases for Photographers

Hobbyists, enthusiasts, and professional photographers can use a cloud storage service to sync a specific folder on their computer and automatically upload their photos to the cloud using an Internet connection. Cloud storage services such as Backblaze can be backup solutions for high-definition big-sized photos and files. You can save space on your computer while keeping all your artwork safe.

Furthermore, you can share and send the selected photos to your clients or collaborators for comments, feedback, editing or delivery. Cloud storage with unlimited storage space and access for teams is ideal for photographers with many photos and videos to store.

Do you want to go beyond file backup and make your digital art a portfolio or online store? I suggest you look at these Top 6 Photography Website Builders for Your Online Portfolio.

Cloud Storage and Backup Use Cases for Travelers

Travellers are always on the move. They may visit countless places with different climates and mobility conditions. They also love taking a lot of beautiful and memorable photos and videos. Pictures can take a lot of space. But would you bring with you a rack of hard drives that can store terabytes of files? Cloud storage services can keep all your files and let you save a lot of space, weight, and trouble.

What troubles? What if your beloved laptop and external hard drive get damaged during a tropical storm or accident? What if they are lost or stolen? What if they stop working for corruption/failure? You lose all your photos, videos, and documents for good. And that long-awaited travel to South America or New Zealand becomes a journey in hell. It's not a matter of if but of when.

A reliable, accessible, and big cloud storage space can literally save your day. Your device is dead, but you still have your files and always will.

6 Best Cloud Storage Services

Whether you are a digital nomad working remotely, a photographer in need of a safe backup and sharing solution or a tourist who prefers to travel light, a good cloud storage service can save your day while helping you work more efficiently and without boundaries. Here's my selection of the top 6 cloud storage solutions you can find on the market.

1. Backblaze

Review

I recommend Backblaze for organizations, professionals, and travellers who have tons of files to store and don't mind paying a small fee for unlimited storage.

Backblaze cloud storage solution is also ideal for businesses that want to build applications and run services saving up to 80% in costs compared to AWS, Google or other alternative storage services.

This storage solution is great for archiving but needs some improvements for file navigation on the cloud.

Services

• Cloud storage: scalable service with pricing per Gigabyte
• Integrations: 100+ applications and alliance partners such as Facebook and Cloudflare
• Data centres: U.S. and EU
• Compliance: HIPAA programs, SSAE-18/SOC 2 data centres, and data retention and deletion policies.
• Unlimited storage space: business and personal backup with data retention
• Backups: off-site, automatic or scheduled
• File sharing
• Multiple access: web, mobile, by mail
• Old versions restoration up to 30 days, one year, or forever
• Locate My Computer feature (Backblaze maps your computer's location every hour and does many other things)
• Security: Private encryption key for additional plus a two-factor verification via TOTP and SMS.

2. Sync

Review

Sync.com is a great cloud storage solution for companies and large teams looking for the best value for money. Its Pro Team plan offers unlimited storage space and data transfer for just 15$ a month per user.

I recommend Sync.com for file sharing, collaboration, security and privacy. In fact, remote workers and photographers like its zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption protocol.

Upload and download speed could need some improvement. But I understand this is a small price to pay for end-to-end encryption. They added on-demand business hour phone support, but I would also appreciate a live chat.

Services

Sync offers a bunch of features optimized for workers and teams. Here's the list of its services.

• Unlimited data transfer
• Unlimited storage space for any members of the team
• Real-time file backup and sync with auto camera upload
• Sync Vault to upload your files only on the cloud and save space on your computer
• 365-day file history and restoration
• Instant access from any device (computer, tablet, smartphone, web, Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS)
• Microsoft Office 365 integration
• Admin tools for team management
• Custom branding for best communication when sharing files with your clients
• Secure file share and team collaboration inside and outside your team or organization
• Privacy protection in compliance with international privacy regulations
• Two-factor auth (2FA)
• Password protection and granular permissions.

3. Dropbox

Review

I recommend the Dropbox cloud storage service for remote workers who need to share and store documents safely and quickly with their colleagues and clients worldwide. I like the large files transfer feature through which you can send a file of up to 100 GB to friends, team members or clients that don't have a Dropbox account.

The document signing feature is also amazing. In this way, I don't have to use external services such as Eversign and move docs outside Dropbox to sign agreements with my clients, collaborators or employers. For digital nomads, the more we can do remotely, the better. It's quick, comfortable, cheap, and stress-free

The Dropbox User Interface lets you do a lot through your browser. It's user-friendly and straightforward. Conversely, the desktop application is good only for quick file upload. This is good when you want to use Dropbox just as a storage solution. But the addition of other features to the desktop app would be a plus given the multiple needs of remote workers.

Services

Dropbox offers a large series of services optimised for digital remote workers. Let's see them below.

• Drag-and-drop cloud storage service with a user-friendly straightforward UI
• Free large files (up to 100 GB) transfer, regardless of your storage limit, to people without a DropBox account
• Branded file sharing plus collaboration on documents
• File syncing with automatic computer backup
• Password protection
• Photo and video gallery grid display of uploaded images with live streaming
• Send file requests to other people with a deadline for uploading (a great feature for assignments and time-sensitive tasks management)
• To-do lists
• Online document editing on the cloud (perfect for travellers and digital nomad workers)
• ElloSign eSignatures feature to sign legally-binding agreements, with someone else, in a few clicks
• File sorting: automatic
• Third-party integration (Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Adobe, Canva, Autodesk, Slack, Zoom, and AWS)
• File history: Up to 180-day
• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Document watermarking
• HIPAA compliance for health information protection (PHI)
• Support: Email, phone, and live chat

You may be interested also in The Best Photography Resources to support your hobby or career.

4. Box

Review

Box.com is definitely a choice for business cloud storage and collaborative remote work. Although it doesn't offer online editing tools, it can integrate with more than 1,500 productivity apps and business platforms such as Office, Google Workspace, IBM, Oracle Netsuite, Adobe, Salesforce, and DocuSign.

Like Dropbox, you can sign your documents online. This cloud storage service offers a native eSignature tool, “Box Sign”. It's accessible from any device and integrable with Salesforce.

Services

• Drag-and-drop file uploading
• Upload limit: up to 150 GB for a single file
• Unlimited storage for business plans with three to unlimited users
• Version history (from 1 to unlimited)
• Access: Desktop and mobile
• External collaborators
• Custom branding
• Secure File sharing
• Online photo viewer and audio player
• 1,500+ app integrations (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Adobe, Salesforce, Zoom, Oracle, and many more)
• Real-time collaboration: note-taking and project management
• E-signatures: unlimited docs through “Box Sign” via web app and Salesforce
• 2-factor authentication
• SSL & at-rest encryption
• Data loss protection
• Compliance: CCPA, GDPR, HIPAA/FedRAMP
• Watermarking
• APIs and developer tools
• Technical Support during local business hours
• Learning resources: knowledge centre, reports, ebooks, papers, datasheets, infographics, guides, online community, courses, articles, educational videos, webinars, demos, and use cases.

5. Google Drive

Review

Google Drive (or simply Drive) is a popular cloud storage solution from a company whose fame precedes it.

Every kind of person uses Drive. I recommend it for travellers and remote workers. The latter are the ideal users. In fact, document collaboration got the highest score from users (9.3). Its main competitors—and alternatives—are Box and Dropbox.

I find the Google Drive productivity applications very useful. They allow you to work smoothly with clients and teams from all around the world.

Google has a high penetration rate (almost everyone has a Google account, for whatever reason). Therefore, it's quite easy to collaborate with others. I used it with hundreds of users accessing and editing the same file simultaneously and without issues. In addition to the common docs and sheets, I love the forms and questionnaires creation tool. You can create and use those forms for numerous purposes (quizzes included).

A nice feature for travellers is picture content recognition. Let's suppose you visit a landmark and take and upload a photo depicting you in front of it. The cloud storage tool will show it when you perform a Google Drive search for that landmark.

Services

Google Drive offers many features and tools ideal for collaborative remote work and a large variety of tasks.

• Secure and fast files cloud storage
• File sharing and management
• File streaming: image, audio, and video
• 100+ file types compatibility
• File syncing: cross-platform for useful backup (Apple devices included)
• Simultaneous editing by multiple users
• Convenient office suite for collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, etc. (Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Sites, and more)
• Tools integration (Adobe, Autodesk, DocuSign, Salesforce, Slack, and Atlassian)
• Communication: Chat and business-grade video meetings
• Two-step verification
• Data security for enterprises through Data Loss Prevention, security centre, Vault for eDiscovery and archiving
• Support: 24/7 email, chat, and phone.

6. Microsoft OneDrive

Review

Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage solution is very similar to Google Drive. Its main use is photo and files storage and sharing. This is a convenient service for collaborative documentation. I recommend it for remote and travelling workers.

OneDrive features Microsoft 365 that gives you a productivity experience similar to Google Drive. This is perfect for digital nomads who can always have the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps complemented with up to 1 TB of cloud storage space (unlimited for some OneDrive business plans).

Services

• Files storage
• File sharing: password-protected links with expiration date for limited-time access
• 320+ file web previews
• Office apps included on qualifying plans
• Backup: PC folder backup with automatic syncing and photos automatic backup on OneDrive mobile app
• Real-time collaboration on Office documents with simultaneous editing
• Document scanning using your mobile device (docs, receipts, notes, business cards, etc.)
• Mobile app: Android, iOS, and Windows devices
• Security: Protection against ransomware attacks protection, Personal Vault, Data encryption
• 30-day file version history to undo changes within a month
• Additional tools: email, calendaring, teamwork and communication.

There are many cloud storage services online. Each of them offers similar features. But not all cloud solutions are the same. For travellers, photographers, and digital nomads who take file storage and smart working seriously, these are the 6 best cloud storage services that can make a difference.

Summarising Table