Apple iCloud is a document management software offering from Apple. It includes features such as access to music, photos, calendars, contacts, and documents, and it is built into every new iOS device.
$0.99
per month
Axway AMPLIFY Platform
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Axway's Amplify is a universal API management platform that unifies what tools are already in place to get digital products where they can be seen and used. Users can publish, validate, and govern APIs.
iCloud is also great to keep access to photos synced across devices. Ex: I can snap a photo at a job site and have access to that photo on my desktop when I return to my office. I can then drop the photo into a document that is stored in iCloud and have instant access to that document on my iPad at a client's office later in the day. Seamless transitions make life much easier.
It's a great application to backup your data automatically to the cloud and then access later. The automatic restore of certain folders is handy and one less thing to worry about when you're setting up a new PC again. I haven't really encountered any issues with Syncplicity to have any thoughts where it could be improved or where it wouldn't work.
Syncing files, appointments, Notes and contacts. If I'm away from home, and set an appointment using my phone, that appointment automatically updates real time to my home laptop and vice-versa.
By default, it is setup to backup my Desktop Shortcuts, My Documents, and my Internet Explorer Favorites folders. When I sign into a new PC, it automatically syncs these items, making it easy for my data to travel with me.
I'm able to easily share my items/folders with coworkers, granting them read or read/write access as required.
I like that items that are shared with me allow me to choose to sync them to my PC or not. This allows me to sync smaller items like documents and spreadsheets, but keep things like webex recordings stored in the cloud and not using up gigabtyes of space on my PC. :)
I like that, during times when I want to free up resources, I can pause the syncing of files.
Customization - iCloud is great at the stuff it does well. But it lacks features that some competitors (in Google Drive or Dropbox) do really well. API support for third-party apps is really great for some other people.
Remote use - Managing or accessing information from iCloud while not on one of your logged-in apple devices can sometimes be an issue. From a work computer for example. It doable, but the experience is much less user-friendly.
Ability to edit documents on the cloud similar to google docs or some other competitors
I would appreciate it if it backed up more than just Desktop, Favorites and Documents by default. I'm not sure if this was something chosen by my employer, but it would be nice if the whole profile folder was backed up by default, so my pictures, music, and videos folders were included.
It's so seamless that I can't imagine another product doing a better job synchronizing all of my devices. I simply do not think about it at all. Everything happens behind the scenes and I'm confident that Apple keeps my data safe and secure. I'm a happy customer as far as this is concerned. I have not had a bad experience with this service.
While it may be great to use with other Apple products, I find it's an absolutist-style workflow to be debilitating and to lead to many problems. When you sign into the cloud, it completely takes over your device in many ways that you don't notice at first until there is a problem.
Occasionally, large files that haven't yet been synced require a few minutes to pull down but I've rarely noticed delays. It does a good job of keeping data cached on my local machines while updating them with changes from other machines transparently.
Apple customer service is fantastic. iCloud is built with Apple in mind and its design is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. Additionally, whenever our team has encountered issues, the speed of Apple support has been more than timely in addressing our issues and solving our request. We have encountered relatively few issues in my time with the platform and this only improves our overall score for those who keep the platform stable.
Apple does offer an alternative to Office & the Google Docs family but trusting to use it with both internal and external parties is tough. Google is more universal and easier for 3rd parties to collaborate with. Apple works well for a closed internal group that is native to Apple's ecosystem. Google offers more storage space than Apple
I use CrashPlan for my personal PC at home. I think both products have their pluses and minuses. Both products allow you to backup your selected data to the cloud. CrashPlan doesn't easily allow for file sharing (CrashPlan isn't really a collaboration tool as much as it is a backup tool). Both products have easy restore options. However Syncplicity automatically restoring certain data when syncing with a new PC is very handy and a feature that CrashPlan doesn't offer
If I lose track of my credentials or my continuing education documentation, I could end up not being able to renew my certification. This would lead to a major loss in revenue.
Time is money and having all of my required documents easily accessible in iCloud saves me time and allows me to work more efficiently.
My Apple devices were certainly not cheap purchases. iCloud has allowed me to maximize my productivity through synchronizing my work no matter which device I'm working on.
