Many companies while looking for a new cloud storage provider want to go with whatever provider is the least expensive for their company. However, because of the different ways in which cloud storage providers bill their services, this can be very difficult to determine. The good news is that if you know how these providers bill their services, you can more easily compare different services’ costs. Here are four of the things to look for so you can compare and contrast cloud storage pricing.
1. Stable Storage
First of all, how expensive is the provider’s stable storage costs? This is typically going to be one of the more expensive parts of cloud storage, because you’re going to use it more frequently. If you have 80TB of data sitting on old hard drives, you’re probably going to be keeping those 80TB in the cloud year-round. Check to see how expensive the stable storage for the provider is, then calculate how much you’re planning to store.
2. Download Cost
Next is the download cost. When it comes to business-based cloud storage, you’re typically going to get one charge for stable storage, then another for downloading, charged when you actually download the files. Looking into how often you download files will be one of the important elements, as well as how expensive each GB of downloading is. Additionally, look to see whether the cloud storage provider offers a free amount of downloads every day, as well as whether it has any partnerships with other providers for certain free downloads.
3. Uploading Process and Data By Mail
This is going to be somewhat of a “setup fee” that you may have to pay if you have a lot of data to upload to the cloud. Going back to the 80TB example, uploading 80TB on a fairly fast 100Mb connection at your office will take you about 75 days, and that’s only if your internet is up the entire time and working at the fastest possible speed. It’s much easier for you to rent a physical hard drive and ship it to the company, which may be an extra set-up fee.
4. Add-Ons and Extras
Lastly, take a look at any add-ons and extras, like upload fees, deletion charges, individualized product support, and more. If any of these are things that you’re going to want as part of your company’s cloud storage, make sure you think about it and add it to your calculations. A company that doesn’t charge these will be your best option if you’re not sure about whether or not you’re going to use them.
Conclusion
There are many cloud storage providers out there, and they’re competing with each other for a significant amount of their clientele. One of the most important elements of choosing your cloud storage provider will be cost. If you’re looking for the best cost, you can use these four important elements to get a more-or-less accurate snapshot of how expensive it will be for you to use different providers.
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