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
WeTransfer
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
WeTransfer in the Netherlands offers a large file transfer service which includes up to 20 GB transfer with its Pro service, as well as 100 GB of cloud storage.
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 is the most appropriate tool to quickly share documents with someone you don't want to give access to your company's own online library, yet you have to share files. It's great that there's no need to create a user, nor for uploading or downloading files. Just have in mind that the documents on the link have an expiration day!
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.
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
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.
As noted previously, sometimes it can take more than once to upload and share a file if you are using Chrome. It doesn't happen often but of course it always seems to when we are on a really tight deadline. It just takes patient in those cases
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.
WeTransfer is extremely reliable 99% of the time. There has been twice in 4 years that their service was unavailable due to server outage for several hours.
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.
I've only reached out to WeTransfer support once, but they were prompt, courteous, and answered my question. I assume that future interactions would be the same, I'm looking forward to being a long term customer.
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
Dropbox is too complex and unreliable to use. I have had many headaches with files not downloading properly, going missing or not opening. I have to spend a lot of time to figure out what I need to do. And just as you think you have everything under control, you set up a nice work environment with organized folders, you realize your storage space is up anyway! Since I've discovered WeTransfer, I never went back to Dropbox.
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.
