The world is full of cloud storage providers. Back in 2008, Dropbox made a splash when it announced its service, but Google Drive still has more market share, and Microsoft’s OneDrive is a close third.
Not every cloud storage provider is created equal, and many users end up paying for multiple providers to get the best of each. Even if users choose the cheapest cloud storage provider, paying for multiple services quickly adds up.
Too many cloud storage providers, too little cohesion 🤦🏼♀️
Unlimited cloud storage is essential for freelancers and creators, especially those who work with large media files such as video and RAW images. Whereas Dropbox and Google Drive both have free tiers, the storage space that these free tiers offer is not even close to enough, and certainly not for images.
Google Photos used to offer unlimited storage of photos in “high” quality, but even their “high” quality is too low for professional use. And now that free storage option has also come to an end.
Because of its ease of use, Dropbox was the go-to solution for many creators. But despite all its benefits, Dropbox is awful when it comes to finding and categorizing photos. So, users who needed professional-quality storage for photos that included easy search functionality would have to fork over for Google Drive (now Google One) or sign up for other services such as Flickr Pro or Smugmug.
And then there’s the fact that digital creators often use Macs. But Apple has designed its devices so that they work most smoothly with Apple-only services such as iCloud-that was the way Steve Jobs wanted it. So, even though you can install Dropbox and Flickr on a Mac, they will never be as smooth and seamless as Apple’s proprietary iCloud service.
We could go on. But the point is this: We’ve gone from one cloud storage provider to four or five! Even if users chose the cheapest cloud storage for each provider, they’re still paying more than they should.
In such an ecosystem, sticking with only one cloud storage provider isn’t always possible. But it is possible to maximize the storage capacity for each and so be able to get the cheapest possible price for the combination of providers you are using.
How to maximize cloud storage and truly get the cheapest cloud storage price possible
The strategy for maximizing storage capacity and paying the cheapest possible price is:
- Separate “hot” and “cold” files (we’ll explain this shortly)
- Move files around strategically between providers to use each provider’s capacity and features to the maximum
Let’s dig into these two points:
Hot files are files that are accessed frequently. They are used often and creators need to be able to download them immediately whenever they need them.
Cold files are files that have not been used in some time. There are “cold file” storage providers that charge much less for cloud storage such as Amazon S3 Glacier and Wasabi. This is the type of storage used for archiving. The drawback is that accessing files is slow, which is fine if the creator does not need them regularly.
That leaves only one other problem: Confusion.
“Where is my file!?” 🤷🏽♂️
The final problem with using multiple cloud storage providers is the sheer mess that ensues when trying to maximize price efficiency by moving files around. Is that MP4 you saved in Wasabi, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud? And which version of the file is the latest?
Creators usually end up with multiple folders for the same client, spread across different cloud storage providers, thereby wasting storage space and generating immense confusion.
Even if creators wanted to be efficient and move files to the best provider depending on price and storage capacity, they usually choose not to because of the loss of time when they need to find them again.
Time is money.
The solution of efficiently moving files around between providers can only be feasibly achieved algorithmically, not manually.
This was the motivation behind our creation of Mineral.
Introducing Mineral — a consolidated cloud storage management solution
Mineral is a cloud storage management solution that integrates all your cloud storage providers into one interface, and automatically shifts files around algorithmically in the background, maximizing your storage space for each provider, thereby ensuring you pay the lowest possible price for each provider’s services.
Minerals are substances that exist naturally on the earth, things we cannot do without to survive. The same is true of cloud storage in this modern age, which is what inspired our service’s name.
Mineral integrates every possible cloud storage solution out there and unites them into a cohesive whole. It even saves large Gmail attachments in your chosen cloud storage platform, saving you time and hassle.
Whether you use a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or other storage solution, our integrated interface will bring all of your storage providers together in one easy-to-use dashboard and so maximize your potential for unlimited cloud storage, without adding confusion to your workflow.
The world does not need yet another disconnected, proprietary cloud storage solution that ends up costing creators more in the end. It needs to unite the services that already exist so that users can get all their money’s worth for each service they have signed up for.
If you would like to be one of the first to use Mineral, our early-bird waiting list is open. You can sign up here to be added to it 🐣 !