Originally leveraging Google App Engine’s awesomely scalable (but not without limits) traditional NoSQL data-store, geo-spatial queries had restrictions that meant we had to implement work-arounds to achieve the results we needed from the volumes of data that were quickly amassing. Whilst these work-arounds (namely GeoModel, but also some  complex custom caching mechanisms) delivered results, we still weren’t able to search by keyword and performance could have been better, especially considering the expectation we had having chosen Google (the fastest search engine ever) as our infrastructure provider.

Implementation was a little tedious at first, as Cloud SQL was in “Experimental” (and didn’t it feel that way) release when we first developed the prototype, but once it was released commercially it has been smooth sailing even under load. Performance improvements were dramatic, shaving response times by more than 50% on most local search requests.

For the technical amongst you, this video below, filmed at Google I/O, debates Cloud SQL vs traditional data-store, where inequality operators on multiple fields is simply not possible. The critical component of both solutions is the cloud nature which offers two primary advantages. Database maintenance becomes a thing of the past while at the same time it allows scaling to huge volumes of data and usage without needing the ridiculous capital expense of  traditional servers and networking hardware.

We’ve recently explored a few of the more business focused options, read on for our findings.

Dropbox.
This has been a staple service to many for several years now. In many ways it’s set a benchmark for offline file storage as not only was it first to market, it also led the way in terms of accessibility with options to sync files to your computer, tablet or mobile as well as excellent facilities to share with colleagues. A good option with 2GB free storage.

Google Drive.
As many of our clients already know we’re big fans of the Google Apps for Business framework – for email and docs. For readers familiar with Google Docs, Drive becomes an extension of your browser accessible documents by providing a physical copy of your cloud files on a nominated folder of your chosen local device. Early days yet but so far we have it working well. 5GB storage free.

Ninefold – Oxygen cloud drive.
While the above options take the prize for simplicity they are not hosted within Australia. From the point of view that the Internet is global why does this matter? Perhaps it isn’t a factor that everyone needs to consider but there are two major advantages in doing so. First is latency – data stored physically in Australia will always be quicker to access than hosting abroad. Another is data residency requirements. Whether you prefer to have peace of mind that your data is stored locally or you are contracted (perhaps you are working with a Government department) to store data here, there is a growing movement to keep this in mind. Unfortunately there are no free options here but it is very competitively priced given what’s actually supplied. $39/month for 5 users and 50GB storage space is a very attractive package for small businesses looking to replace their file server! Need to know more? Watch their video

Privacy.

Potentially the most important factor and certainly one with the most debate is the rights you have to your data stored in the cloud – especially Google Drive. Each of the offers has different terms of service so read them carefully, ultimately in the end though it comes down to the trust you place in the company. One advantage to this movement – when compared with cloud-only storage – is that it’s a copy of your files, so that ideally at all stages you will have a physical copy residing on your computer’s local storage – so even if the cloud explodes you’ll still be in business.

Further reading:

Mashable provide a more in depth coverage.
iTWire compare Ninefold and Dropbox

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