Cloud File Storage


  • Cloud storage is a particular type of software as a service
  • Most Office productivity suites are backed by some level of free and paid storage
    • OneDrive is closely integrated with Microsoft Windows and the Microsoft 365 suite
  • Advantages
    • automated file synchronization between different devices
    • allows file sharing
      • Multiple users can simultaneously access the content to work collaboratively, or they can access it at different times
      • Edits by each user can be tracked, and review features allow users to comment on and highlight parts of the document
    • file synchronization is also important within the cloud
      • Files are often replicated between the datacenters underpinning the cloud to improve access times
        • E.g., content delivery networks (CDNs) specialize in provisioning media and resources for websites to multiple Internet exchange points (IXPs) where they are close to ISP networks and can be downloaded more quickly by customers
  • important to replicate data within the datacenter to ensure that it can be provisioned reliably
  • Storage backing the various XaaS models is offered in cost tiers that represent how quickly it can be replicated to datacenter availability zones and between different geographical areas