Land surveyors are often faced difficult geography in remote areas. In addition, the gas and oil sector has turned into a consistent user of land surveying in the cloud. Cloud-based surveying concept helps gas and oil companies to carry out studies and to make use of geographic information systems (GIS) if needed — without having a stress to move computing devices and software programs into hard-to-reach areas where ecological factors like high temperature, dirt and moisture are the major hurdles for the technologies.
A cloud-based service also cuts down the need for computer specialists on field workers. The flexibility to get surveying resources and roadmaps by just tapping it on a smartphone or a notebook allows surveyors (on-the-ground) to get live information and facts when they need it, as well as provides them a point to save new survey information without needing to move their details to a physical facility.
The survey details they collect can be more incorporated into other details or apps in the cloud, or in the long run accompanied with the details that’re kept at the office. The flexibility to maintain survey details coming from several areas of field work at a one storage portal that can be used by anyone also helps for collaborative project engagement and supervision.
Needless to say, you don’t have to be in a remote area to benefit from cloud-computing for land surveys. Over the last two decades, many metropolis, state, and country governments have transferred their GIS along with other survey-related information to non-public clouds that surveyors can easily connect to the open portal. Due to this fact, surveyors are experiencing the instant and long run advantages of stocking both their information and their survey apps in a cloud storage.
The following list is differentiated by:
- Free space
- Speed and performance
- Features (a few services significantly limit their free accounts)
- Bonus space
You normally prefer to steer clear of the services that have quality limitations. If you have a free account, then you will have to keep in mind they also have regular restrictions for shared links.
Therefore, the below cloud storage services have also some limitations with free accounts; this makes you choose the better option that’s giving more with a free account.
1. Google Drive
Free Space: 15 GB
Bonuses: None
Comparatively, Google Drive is one of the most top rated storage service that gives the maximum ease of storing, it gives the more space than OneDrive – 5GB, DropBox – 2GB and iCloud – 5 GB.
The good news is, there are no limits of bandwidth, while some other storage services are limited to it. What’s more? Yes, Google Drive gives you a profligate and trustworthy syncing, and it also supports the file versioning. A bit dark side is about the privacy option for Linux client; it doesn’t have the bad one, but Sync and MEGA have the better one. On the contrary, the bright side is its more space that is 15 GB.
2. Dropbox
Free Space: 2 GB
Bonuses:
• 125 MB for connecting to the Facebook or Twitter
• 500 MB / friend referral
• 16 GB bonus
Dropbox continues to make its position stable over the years with its 2 GB space for free accounts. It can be compared in terms of space with others. However, Dropbox improved itself with its simple and reliable synchronization. The files are easy to use and can be synchronized across the devices; the apps are simple to use on LAN sync when devices are being operated on the same WiFi network. Dropbox supports several operating systems including Linux. The dark side is when you go over the limit of sharing links more than 20 GB; Dropbox will suspend the links you shared that are going beyond the 20GB traffic limit.
3. OneDrive
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses:
• 500 MB per referral friend
• 10 GB bonus
Microsoft has downgraded the free packages from 15 to 5 GB, which is considered to be a good thing for Google Drive’s traffic. However it’s good for storing things, but it lacks the file versioning and supporting non-office files. The plus point of OneDrive is that you can have access to the Windows account, that is providing you an easy to use interface. It does give you many collaboration and sharing options with firm and steadfast cloud services in which you can edit and share the files.
4. Degoo
Free Space: 100 GB
Bonuses:
• 3 GB per referral of friend
• 500 GB bonus
Degoo is good news for you having a 100 GB storage offer which is quite more than the Dropbox and Google Drive. However, it also beats the MEGA with its storage offer as it doesn’t provide a sharing and file sync options. However, Degoo has an simple to use desktop software which gives an option of backing up the files on PC as well as on mobiles.
Cons: it’s been told that this Swedish startup fails to provide a reliability users were expecting.
5. hubiC
Free Space: 25 GB
Bonuses:
• 5 GB / friend referral
• 25 GB bonus
hubiC is good if you are using it in the Europe, outside using experience is quite outdated with the speed of under 2 Mbps. However, it gives you a decent space of 25 GB which can be increased more to 50 GB with your friend referrals. Overall it supports desktop clients like Mac, Linux and Windows. To sum up this cloud storage service takes great care of Europeans but not others.
6. iCloud
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses: None
iCloud works on Mac and Windows desktop with 5 GB free space, however, this is far good to backing up your contacts, files, settings, and photos, but as a downside, it doesn’t back up the videos. Files can be synced up to all devices. The Apple’s iCloud storage doesn’t provide link sharing option as well as the web applications are also limited.
7. MEGA
Free Space: 50 GB
Bonuses: None
MEGA has become the hottest cloud storage providers. It gives you a large free space of 50 GB.
What’s more, it promises to offer you the zero-knowledge level of privacy with security. Therefore, NSA can even not check out your information. This means there’s no “password reset” (don’t forget your password strength). The sync clients are Mac, Linux, and Windows. You can also use mobile applications for Android and iOS. The 10 GB bandwidth resets every 40 minutes. The fact is, this is far advanced than the Dropbox and other storage services. I can’t blame them for this. It features a quite strong ethos of information security, and its solution is led by the rule that ‘security by policy’ is blatantly limited; just security by design is enough.
On a positive flip side, the security is very tight with the notion that MEGA itself is not eligible to even access your own data, this is how your usability doesn’t affect. MEGA has attached to itself millions of users due to its end-to-end encryption, unobtrusiveness, and browser based high performance.
On the contrary, New Zealand federal authorities had seized the shares of the organization that had made MEGA a bit controversial, after shares being detained the creator Kim Dotcom stated that he also doesn’t trust the services of MEGA. That’s the reason most of the people believe that MEGA is not a secure portal because the users claimed that the sync-clients are buggy, and they are keep losing their data. But this is not the case with everyone, few of them might have the problems due to some other technical reasons. MEGA is striving to overcome such issues and bring their simple-to-use interface back in normal.
8. pCloud
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses:
• 1 GB per referral of friend
• 500 MB to for Facebook/Instagram
• 500 MB for connecting with Facebook account
• 10 GB bonus
pCloud creates a virtual drive on your desktop and offers you a 10 GB free space in which you can listen to music, share your files and folders, backup your data, provide a media player that is web-based and much more.
pCloud features security system named as pCloud Crypto that costs you $3.99 a month to provide data, even more, security and encrypt sensitive files. Its 100% wholesome cloud drive can sync your data to the computer and allows to access them anytime from a smartphone or other devices or web browser. The bandwidth limit is zero, and with that, you can share maximum links as much as you can. Once you are active on pCloud Crypto, you can conveniently add your sensitive files into a crypto folder and lock them up with a password. The great thing about pCloud is nobody can access your data even the pCloud itself.
9. Symform
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses: 5 TB max bonus
Symform is pretty rigid, but it gives you a good earn up space from 10 GB to 5 TB if you upgrade the space of hard drive on your computer, overall space makes the Symform better over other services.
The downside is that it does not provide file sharing, therefore you have to decide on another service for using this feature.
10. Yandex.Disk
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses:
• 500 MB per referral of friend
• 10 GB bonus
Yandex.Disk, Russia’s best retaliation against US’s Google drive. It provides 10 GB which can be increased to 20 GB with your friend referrals. Your referral user gets 1 GB free instant space and you get 500 MB.
Yandex.Disk Features:
• Public and private folder
• Photos via social networks
• File sharing
• Drag and drop facility
• Windows, Linux, Mac supported
• Bulk downloads
• Mobile uploads
• Mobile applications for iOS, Android and Windows phone
11. MiMedia
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses: None
MiMedia provides 10 GB; the bad news is it doesn’t give you more space with friend referrals, so you better join another storage service to satisfy your space. However, MiMedia allows you to store and share, videos, photos, music, and files.
12. MediaFire
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses:
• 1 GB per referral of friend
• 2 GB to mobile applications/install desktop
• 1 GB to post to Twitter/Facebook
• 1 GB to connect Twitter/Facebook
• 40 GB bonus
MediaFire offers 10 GB free space in the start but it can be increased to 50 GB with your friend referrals. File versioning and sharing options make MediaFire a stand-alone service on a competition ground. Android and iOS users can have a steak of uploading their files, photos, and videos with an app.
The dark side of MediaFire is its ad-supported nature, in simple words, MediaFire shows the ads of its media clients on shared links which bother the users not to stick to their main task.
13. Syncplicity
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses: None
Syncplicity is still trying hard to be seen in the cloud storage world. A friend referral program has been suspended, so a user doesn’t have a choice to grow more space. However, Syncplicity offers great mobile apps plus zero bandwidth limitations.
14. Cubby
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses:
• 1 GB per referral of friend
• 20 GB bonus
Cubby, a cloud service by LogMeIn provides 5 GB free space which can be increased to 25 GB with friend referral system. You can get 1 GB more free space by referring your friend. It can be installed on MAC and Windows. However, an app is available for using on iOS and Android devices. Cubby allows you to remove or share the Cubby files from its applications. Your files and folders can be shared with anyone even if he/she is not a Cubby’s registered user.
15. ASUS WebStorage
Free Space: 8 GB
Bonuses:
• 512 MB per referral of friend
• 10 GB bonus
WebStorage gives 8 GB free space; it can be increased with friend referral system with extra 512 MB. The hitch is its free plan only supports one PC, plus the 500 MB file size limit.
16. Sync.com
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses: 1 GB per referral of friend
Sync is a new arrival among cloud storage rivals. A one-to-one extra space of 1 GB with friend referrals, you will get 1GB as well as your friend gets the same too. The free plan consists of 5 GB space for free. Sync provides a dexterous privacy which is better than other services.
You couldn’t find the feature like the Sync owns, which can upload multiple files through desktop and mobiles apps, and through the website interface at the same time.
If your co-workers or friends are also Sync’s user then you can share your files and folders with them without a hitch, you can interact them with your data conveniently. There is a folder named Vault that prevents your data to sync across the other devices. This folder also avoids to show you the archived files that you don’t want to see around.
17. Jottacloud
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses: None
Norway comes around with Jottacloud, which offers a 5 GB free space, the sync clients are Windows and Mac. Jottacloud also has iOS, Android, and Windows phone apps.
18. CloudMe
Free Space: 3 GB
Bonuses:
• 500 MB per referral of friend
• 16 GB bonus
CloudMe offers a 3 GB free space. Friend referral system provides more 19 GB with which your friend gets 500 MB. CloudMe is a Swedish cloud storage that offers something bad too, is a 150 MB file uploading limit with a free account.
19. Box
Free Space: 10 GB
Bonuses: None
The box is not just a box, it offers 10 GB space, which makes it a pretty big cloud storage. Let’s find out what it features and what it lacks:
Features:
• 10 GB large free space
• Windows, Blackberry, iOS, Android phone apps
• Share, download, upload files
• Desktop clients are Mac OS X and Windows
• Sharing links
Lacks:
• Only 250 MB file size limit
• No file version history
• Storage space less than google drive and dropbox
20. OpenDrive
Free Space: 5 GB
Bonuses:
• 500 MB per referral of friend
• 15 GB bonus
5 GB storage doesn’t let a game win. However, it’s suitable for small businesses or individual users. OpenDrive gives an extra space of 500 MB with friend referral system. Your friend will get 5 GB, which is good for your referrals. It has a 1 GB bandwidth and 200 KB/s speed which makes it less inclined to most users.
My Turn :
Nothing is bad but not the all are good, even then being a land surveyor you need to make a wise choice. After digesting all above information you better go for three services that can satisfy you with space, sharing and security options. Google Drive, MEGA, and Dropbox are on the go.
Your Turn :
The above mentioned is just to let you know the differences among big storage portals and help you to choose the best one that suits you. Let us know your own favorite free cloud storage and share your thoughts.