Google Drive vs. ownCloud vs. SugarSync

It is possible to share files and folders with up to 200 email addresses, as well as with persons outside the company.Use the drop-down arrow to select who may see, comment on, or change the file or folder before sending out an invitation.I am very much impressed with this feature

I'd easily recommend ownCloud to small businesses or teams within organizations. I've not used ownCloud in large deployments, so I'd hesitate before suggesting it in a situation where more than 10 users need support. That said, ownCloud is easy to set up and multiple instances could be used to service a large user base.

Incentivized

When doing daily jobs, if you’re sharing large files, I think Dropbox works a lot better but if you have a system where you’re working within that system and you want to be able to work with that system and have certain folders that you have access to all the time then SugarSync might be just the ticket.

Incentivized

• Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
• You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
• You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS

Incentivized

• Attention and dedication to making the product a world class product with continual product updates.
• Ease of use from an administration standpoint, and a very Clear UI.
• The price -- you can't beat free!
• Mobile applications are great.
• Integration with public S3 cloud providers like AWS S3 and Wasabi S3.
• 2FA authentication is supported and works great!
• Marketplace Add-Ons: I love this! For example, I can install an add-on that natively opens raw images. I am a photographer as well, and being able to quickly view the CR2 Raw Files direct from the camera is fantastic! This was made possible by a marketplace add-in.
• Embedded Media Players: Photos, Music, and Video files can be viewed and played right in the browser window.
• Sync application to keep local files on a computer updated with the files on the server.
• Access control and permissions -- shareable links!

Incentivized

• Sync files in any folder - rather than forcing you to store them in a certain place (Although this can be confusing too)
• Works in the background - although this is true for all
• You can share with others - including those who do not use SugarSync

Incentivized

• Having a little bit more control and clarity over what is shared and how it is shared would be a useful improvement.
• Could be more robust and flexible as far as assigning restrictions.
• Google Sheets could be enhanced because Excel really is not there yet as a product with equal capabilities as there are still quite a few limitations to the functionality.

Incentivized

• Inability to easily collaboratively edit the same document by several people. Some advances have been made with Collabora (Libreoffice online) but it is still very sub-par compared to Office365 and desktop/online Office editing Sharepoint or OneDrive documents.
• Apps for Calendar and Contacts are not part of the basic core, and although now quite supported they cannot still be easily deployed in common email clients such as Outlook or Thunderbird, separate CalDAV and CardDAV plugins need to be installed. Embedding an email solution and plugins for major email clients so they can work just by entering username and password would be good.
• Risk of moving important folders/files to another location just by random drag-and-drop on Windows. Sometimes this breaks public links that cannot be restored anymore. Reverting such mistake by any of the users is impossible automatically.
• When some user deletes some data in a shared folder it is put into recycle bin of the owner of the folder. The user who deleted cannot himself/herself revert such action as he/she does not see the recycle bin (trash) of the owner. Also, there is no log in the recycle bin who deleted that file or folder.

Incentivized

• Can only think of one thing. I have helped others to get going with SugarSync and they if they have problems it is understanding the cloud.... So maybe (if it dosen't exist already) I would like to have a animation of the proces with "flying" folders between desktops, clouds etc. Otherwise SugarSync is just great.

Incentivized

It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.

1. Freemium model is the ideal marketing for an app like this. 2. Now their sync methods with Android are worse

It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.

Incentivized

OwnCloud is easy for me to use, and I believe it would be for others too. The barrier for most people will be the set up. For a technology professional like myself, ownCloud's setup is pretty straightforward, but it's not the sort of thing most casual users will be able to handle. Also, it's on the user to maintain the service. These can be taken care of by paying someone to do it for you.

Incentivized

Always available

Incentivized

The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.

Incentivized

Compared with other cloud services, ownCloud has been the most efficient. It doesn't create a noticeable drain on resources and very quickly syncs across all my devices. I'm usually able to save a file on my laptop and by the time I walk over and sit down at my desktop machine, it's already there. I don't need to wait as often as I have with services like OneDrive.

Incentivized

It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.

Regarding the community edition, there is a reasonably good support on the IRC, forums and in the issue section on Github. Perhaps a much more individual approach would be available if the premium support was chosen and the instance of the server was provided by the Owncloud company that also offers some premium extensions, not available generally. However, we did not need this level of support yet.

Incentivized

Customer service is amazing, they are always fast to respond and very helpful.

Incentivized

The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.

Incentivized

It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases

In short, Google Drive is better for independent users who store a normal amount of stuff. OneDrive makes more sense for businesses and teams that are doing heavy-duty storage or large-scale syncing. Realistically, though, most users will fall somewhere in between the two, where either platform would meet their needs.

The paid cloud services are expensive if you need a lot of data. You're giving your personal and business information to a data-hungry organization. Local NAS solutions are too slow. We run ownCloud on an older business PC and the performance is outstanding, even for remote access, due to local syncing.

Incentivized

SugarSync, like all solutions, has its place in the data storage stack within a company. The main reason SugarSync is better than the other solutions is that it enables me to leave my hard drive organized and keep my existing file trees. I don't have to constantly move or copy files to a specific folder if I want them backed up.

Incentivized

I have always been able to access

Incentivized

• It has given our operation remote capabilities
• Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
• availability to digital resources fast and easy
• saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
• our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it

• Software is free so if you are going for a hosted solution anyway, it's hard to beat
• One of the easiest way to make sure your data is secured without compromising on features
• You need to manage the infrastructure and software

Incentivized

• There were some opensource alternatives but we wanted something with better support which SugarSync offers.
• We achieved faster project collaboration with SugarSync.

Incentivized