OpenDrive VS. Dropbox
When you are looking for the best cloud storage service available, there are more important things than popularity. Just because a company is on the top of the list in Google search results doesn’t necessarily make it the best choice for your needs.
Today, we will compare another popular cloud storage service to OpenDrive in 6 key categories: Flexibility, Productivity, Security, Reliability, Support and Affordability.
Flexibility
OpenDrive’s service includes the capabilities to not only sync your files, but you can also back up, collaborate with colleagues and host files to display or imbed in your website, blog or forum. With their Business account, you can also brand your web portal with custom colors and company logos, as well as assign a custom domain to your page. Advanced options include the award winning Backup and Sync Manager, which allows you to specify the parameters of your sync or backup task and include or exclude files and folders. OpenDrive also works on all platforms, with applications and a web interface that can accommodate any OS or device.
Dropbox is a drag and drop sync tool that simply integrates into Windows Explorer or Finder in a way that allows you to drag and drop files to a Dropbox folder, which uploads the files to your account. You can also share folders with other Dropbox users and also share links to files stored in your Public folder. That is all Dropbox really has to offer, which doesn’t provide very much flexibility overall.
Winner: OpenDrive
Productivity
OpenDrive offers a complete package of tools designed to ensure that your business cloud usage is simple, yet efficient and powerful. These tools include user and group management, online document editing, sending and receiving files thru email, user activity logs and statistics, file collaboration, image and media file previews, and much more.
Once again, Dropbox is a drag and drop sync tool that simply integrates into Windows Explorer or Finder in a way that allows you to drag and drop files to a Dropbox folder, which uploads the files to your account.
Winner: OpenDrive
Security
OpenDrive’s 128 bit SSL encryption through their web interface and 256 bit AES encryption through their desktop apps are more than enough to satisfy the security needs of businesses that need to keep even the most critical and sensitive documents safe. The Secure Files folder provides an extra layer of security, utilizing Zero Knowledge Encryption for even more peace of mind. Servers belong exclusively to OpenDrive and are not collocated in any way.
Dropbox also has SSL and AES encryption, but no Zero Knowledge Encryption whatsoever. They also use Amazon S3 servers for storage, which relinquishes physical control of all hardware and all data stored.
Winner: OpenDrive
Reliability
OpenDrive’s servers are continuously audited and updated to ensure the most seamless and hiccup free operation possible, and are maintained physically and personally by OpenDrive personnel only. When OpenDrive rolls out its deduplication capabilities soon, access will be even faster and more reliable than it is now, while remaining innovative and constantly increasing in features daily.
Dropbox maintains reliability and speed by keeping their service simple and not changing very much. Server and software updates are for the purpose of correcting bugs only. There is no innovation or growth and they do not personally get involved in the maintenance of the servers that are used, preferring to contract all maintenance to Amazon as part of their collocation deal.
Winner: OpenDrive
Support
OpenDrive Support is the fastest in the industry and offers the most options for contact and obtaining information. This includes a support desk, email, a toll free number, forum, various social media pages, a knowledge base and soon a collection of video tutorials. Response times average 6-8 hours via email, which is only a third of the industry average (20 hours). There is also no priority according to your subscription level. Even free account users get the exact same service when they need any assistance whatsoever.
Dropbox has a support desk and email, as well as a knowledge base, forum and social media contacts. They do not offer phone support, and you have to be a Pro-level user to get priority service. Their average email response times are 24-48 hours, which makes it difficult for a business that has an urgent need and is trying to meet a deadline.
Winner: OpenDrive
Affordability
OpenDrive offers tiered Custom plans that start at $5 per month and unlimited plans that start at $12.95 per month for personal and $29.95 per month for business. Unlimited is very affordable if you need the extra storage, but if you need extra user accounts, a custom plan with limited storage and extra users, at only $1 each, is also a very affordable option, allowing flexibility that is designed to fit any need and any budget.
Dropbox has tiered plans that focus on amounts of storage needed rather than user access or features. Although relatively affordable by industry standards, they are still higher than a lot of other services and do not offer an unlimited option. Their business accounts are also quite pricy.
Winner: OpenDrive
Verdict
In all areas, OpenDrive is once again the winner! Come take a drive with OpenDrive today!
