In this article I’ll talk about the advantages and benefits of pCloud and why I believe this is the best and most secure cloud storage solution at the moment, especially for content creators.
Everybody who knows me personally know that I am a complete back-up fanatic. As a content creator who started its career in the early beginning of the internet and the arrival of digital photography and digital art, I have been creating many terabytes of audio-visual digital information and I’ve been carefully trying to save all this digital information since almost 20 years, all of this data is very well ordered by year, by category etc on multiple storage drives. Learn about What is pCloud and Cloud Storage Solutions?
1. Digital data is precious
As a photographer, digital painter and video creator, my professional and personal digital or digitized content is the most precious thing I have so it was very important for me to have a reliable back up solution. I was only using traditional physical hard drives in the past, but I was afraid that they would be destroyed during a natural catastrophe or even stolen by some evil-minded person.
This is why I started looking for online storage solutions and this is how I discovered pCloud in 2017. I started with a 2 terabytes life time plan cloud storage and I’m now about to upgrade to a 6 terabytes plan because I have more and more data everyday. I’m still using physical hard drives but with pCloud I now have more sharing options and diversity to save and share my data.
2. What is pCloud?
For those who don’t know what pCloud is, it is a cloud storage solution. To make it simple, pCloud is some kind of remote virtual storage drive that can be accessed on any of your internet connected device all around the world. With that kind of storage, you don’t need any physical hard drive.
I have personally tried other cloud storage services such as Google Drive or Dropbox but I found that pCloud is the best so far mainly thanks to its intuitive platform and ease of use.
The little downside is the time it takes to upload a lot of content online. Uploading terabytes of information can take days, weeks or more even with a relatively good internet connection. It can be annoying. But this is not due to pCloud, it’s due to the nature of cloud storage.
3. What is cloud storage?
Cloud storage is a cloud computing model that stores all types of digital data and information on the Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data storage as a service. It’s delivered on demand with just-in-time capacity and costs, and eliminates buying and managing your own data storage infrastructure. Applications access cloud storage through traditional storage protocols or directly via an API.
Cloud storage is based on a virtualized storage infrastructure with accessible interfaces, near-instant elasticity and scalability, multi-tenancy, and metered resources. Cloud-based data is stored in logical pools across disparate, commodity storage servers located on premises or in a data center managed by a third-party cloud provider.
4. What can you do with pCloud?
The biggest advantage of pCloud is to be a consistent solution to backup your professional and personal data in the cloud. With this type of cloud storage platforms, you have the ability to dematerialize your hard drives, you save money because you don’t need to buy and replace physical storage drives over time.
Another advantage is that files can be shared easily with many options such as custom private download links or email deliveries.
The fact that it is in the cloud makes it possible for you to access files on any device, laptops, PC’s or smartphones as long as you are connected to the internet. You have many synchronization options. This offers many benefits as it accelerates your productivity and your project collaborations with clients or colleagues.
Security and confidentiality is also good, you can add an extra layer of security with Client-side encryption with pCloud Crypto (paid option). You can also generate clients password protected links.
There is also a nice file history backup which allows you to generate, track, and easily retrieve multiple file versions. Nothing is lost.
Of course, pCloud offers video, audio and photo players as well as streaming options, you can actually play all the data that you save, it sounds so obvious but it really gives you many possibilities if you want to share massive amount video, photo, file or audio data in a private way.
5. What are the benefits for a photographer?
You can backup huge amount of files, photos, videos etc and share easily with clients. Good to know that pCloud supports raw formats.
There is an Adobe Lightroom compatibility plugin which allows you to work with your files through Lightroom directly in the cloud without taking any storage on your computer.
There is an efficient search feature: It can filter the search results based on the file format or types of files such as a document, video, audio, and image files. So for senior content creators with tons of digital data, it makes it easier to search and find the things you are looking for.
Finally you can easily share massive amount of and all types information to clients or colleagues.
6. An intuitive interface?
Yes! This is what made me chose pCloud instead of Dropbox. pCloud is very simple to use, search and it takes seconds to share files with a unique and attractive design.
You have to download the software to make it work on your computer and follow the instructions, then you can open the app and the virtual drive will show up, you’ll then be able to add, delete, drag, drop and move files and data.
7. Branded platform : A nice feature
A cool feature is that you can share all your stuff with your customers/friends with a custom layout, you can for instance add your logo/slogan text or description on the top of the interface so the page will look like your own, but powered by pCloud.
8. Any downsides?
I only found 2 disadvantages of that kind of storage, but it’s not due to pCloud, it’s due to the nature of cloud storage. The first one is the danger of losing control over your data if you for instance lose/forget your passwords or if your passwords get stolen, the second downside is the time it takes to upload all your content online. Uploading terabytes of information can take days, weeks or more even with a relatively good internet connection. It can be annoying. But these issues will most probably improve in the future with the evolution of technology.
9. Prices and lifetime plans
I tried and bought it so I can attest: pCloud offers attractive prices with real lifetime plans with a one-time payment and no extra cost. I suppose the only way you could lose your data is if they bankrupt, but this is a risk for every existing company.
If you opt for a lifetime plan, it will be a one-time payment with no monthly or annual subscriptions. Lifetime plans and prices can be found on pcloud.com.
Please Follow these links to buy a pCloud plan with a huge discount:
- Family plan: https://partner.pcloud.com/r/47053
- Business plan: https://partner.pcloud.com/r/47404
- All plans: https://partner.pcloud.com/r/47051
- Crypto add on: https://partner.pcloud.com/r/47052
It is good to note that you can sign up to pCloud and download their mobile and desktop application FOR FREE. Basic pCloud accounts (Free Forever) come with up to 10 GB of free space. If you ever run out of space, you can upgrade your account with a monthly, yearly or life-time plan to a pCloud Premium (500 GB) or pCloud Premium Plus (2 TB) plan.
© Ben Heine – This article is copyrighted – Use without prior consent is forbidden.
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