Overview: Box vs Dropbox as Cloud File Server
Box and Dropbox are the leading file storage solutions for businesses of all sizes. (Yes, we know of Microsoft OneDrive and Adobe Teams, but we're not aware of anyone using them! Please let us know your experience if you use any of these solutions.)
MORE ON MICROSOFT: If you have an Office 365 account, then OneDrive (for personal storage) and SharePoint (for team collaboration) is a good place to start — because you're already paying for it! (See how to set up Office 365 file storage and sharing for details.) However, in my experience, the Microsoft workflow and interface can be frustrating and you might find more value in spending money on Box or Dropbox.
Dropbox vs Box Reviews
- Mar 2017 - Box vs Dropbox from Nucleus Research. The Bottom Line: Nucleus found that box retains its position ahead of Dropbox because of customer-owned security encryption and granular information governance.
- Feb 2017 - Dropbox Enterprise vs Box: Which cloud storage platform is better for your business?
- May 2015 - Dropbox vs Box
Pricing
- Box Business: $15/user/mo (3-user minimum, unlimited storage)
- DropBox Advanced: $25/user/mo (5-user minimum, unlimited storage)
Limitations
- Box: 5GB File size (Business/Enterprise accounts). See details.
- Dropbox: No file size limit. See details.
Sharing Files
Both Box and Dropbox say you cannot host a sync folder on a server. Moving to cloud storage will require workflow changes.
Box - Box Sync does not support shared drives (drives accessible to multiple users across multiple machines).
Dropbox - Although Dropbox can run on a server OS, we do not recommend sharing the Dropbox folder, or any folders inside the Dropbox folder, over your local network. If you attempt to share a single Dropbox folder over a server, the following issues can occur:
- Permission issues
- Files stuck in sync
- Extended sync times.
LONG-TERM STORAGE: Amazon Glacier Storage for Archiving
If you have many TBs of archived data (completed jobs) it may not be practical to upload it all to any cloud storage solution — even if it comes with unlimited storage. Amazon offers a method where they ship you a hard drive. It's called Glacier — because it's very, very, slow, but also very affordable (currently, $0.004 per GB / month):
- 5TB = $20/mo
- 10TB = $40/mo
- 15TB = $60/mo
Keep in mind, Amazon Glacier does not have a great interface. However, Webdam has built their solution to work with Glacier and Webdam is a great solution for Digital Asset Management, Brand Management, Project Management, and Marketing Operations.
Comments
4 comments
Nice article
It's technically possible to use Office 365 and OneDrive as a shared cloud storage solution for your team. However, it's not easy. See Customize your Office 365 team site for file storage and sharing to get an idea of what it takes to build something that falls very short of what Box and Dropbox deliver out-of-the-box.
Box add Governance (meet legal and compliance requirements) to its feature list.
Two additional links related to Amazon Glacier:
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