Does Unlimited Storage from Amazon Challenge Box (and Everyone Else)?

To date, cloud file-sharing and synch vendors have priced their services in part on the amount of storage you procure, but this model has been under increasing stress. In a previous blog, I’d mentioned:

I suspect most vendors will gradually lower their prices to remain competitive, and I wouldn't be surprised to see unlimited (or very high) storage quotas becoming a norm in the near future.

Now Amazon has unveiled unlimited storage plans starting at $11.99 per year for photos and $59.99 for everything else. I suspect others, especially the bigger vendors, will follow soon. Does this mean smaller vendors such as Box and others have a reason to worry?

Should smaller vendors be worried?

Well, it depends.

For small vendors, it is difficult to match these bigger infrastructure players, and they can’t probably start offering unlimited storage as easily. They will of course work to remain competitive, and seek to find more innovative ways to differentiate.

And they are indeed building new features. Box, for example, is trying to evolve into a broader collaboration offering. Dropbox has also added a few collaboration features such as ability for users to add comments and security features such as ability to expire file links.

What should you the customer do?

Remember that storage is becoming a commodity. Going forward, focus more intently what you can do with technology. As an example, while Amazon offers unlimited storage, syncing files across desktop devices remains a weak point for that platform. So evaluate vendors carefully with respect to actual business services, while negotiating unlimited (or very high) storage quotas.

You have many options today, including more enterprise-focused vendors, many of whom we evaluate in our ECM and Cloud File Sharing evaluations.

Other ECM & Cloud File Sharing posts

ECM Standards in Perspective

In real life I don't see ECM standards proving particularly meaningful, and you should see them as a relative benefit rather than absolute must-have.