We have left the era much behind where we used to carry important documents safely in different document folders. No doubt those folders were eye-catching and were a collection item for many, but as a human being, we should always keep looking at improvements. Same is the case here. With the evolution in digital techniques, developers have created online lockers that can serve the purpose of offline document folders with better accuracy and safety. Here we will have a look at some of the best online tools that can be used to store important documents online.
Where to Store Important Documents Online
- DigiLocker
DigiLocker comes directly from the Government of India. DigiLocker signifies “Digital Locker” and is a dedicated space in online clouds that is distributed to eligible Indian citizens.
It was launched during Feb 2015 with the aim to provide dedicated secure personal online space which can be used to store relevant documents and other related files online. At the time of launch each registered user was given 10 MB space only (was for test purpose only) but eventually, it is now increased to 1GB/user which is more than enough for most of the users. This space can be used for storing important documents like Permanent Account Number (PAN), Ration Cards, Birth Certificates, Passport/Visas, voter card, UIDAI cards, etc. While creating an account at DigiLocker, you have the option to integrate it with IUDAI number. In case you adopt for it, you will be getting OTA each time you try to login to DigiLocker account (it adds one extra layer of security).
It comes with e-sign integration that allows e-signing of government documents. It aims at reducing the use of physical resources (paper, ink, etc.) wherever possible. Although a lot needs to be worked on the e-signing part but with the pace work is going on now, we can expect it to get completed in the next 2-3 years.
Dropbox
Owned by Dropbox Inc, it used to be one of the early birds in this niche. Dropbox shows a perfect freemium model that allows one to go with both free and premium accounts. Free is obviously limited to storage and operational restrictions. Talking about the functional model then users create a desktop icon (dedicated to Dropbox) that will operate and look like any other regular system folder.
However, it comes with a twist, and the twist is real-time cloud integration of the dedicated content in Dropbox folder. This folder can be used to store all sort of data and can be accessed from any integrated device (a device that is paired/integrated with own Dropbox account).
It comes with high-end features like real-time synchronization, revision history and multi-user version control which allows the user to take backups and work in synch with a large number of team members (with revision history feature, more than one person can work simultaneously on the same document).
Google Drive (GDrive)
Google too provides free space on online clouds. Google encapsulates a significant number of integrated components in one suite called Google Drive (Suite that has a resemblance to MS Office).
It allows the user to have their content stored in various formats like a simple word doc, powerpoint ppt, excel sheet, forms, white papers, etc. It was launched on April 29, 2012, and since then it has attracted around 240 million active users (over 1 million are paid users/organizations).
It works in integration with any Gmail account and allows the user to store up to 15 GB data for free from one particular account. In case you want to store more than 15GB then you can choose from 5 interactive paid packages that start from 1.99 per month fee even.
Google has made sure to provide flexibility in term of pricing so that all sorts of users can be accommodated.
Amazon S3
Amazon has too entered the market with their Simple Storage Solution (S3) model. As of now, they have launched 3 versions that provide different latency and data retrieval rates.
One can buy Amazon S3 bucket which can be further divided into several objects (as per category or the way user want). It comes with high-end security features that are hard to crack and provides real-time cloud integration. The user has all sort of freedom that one can think of (they can design their data warehouse, can manage user profiles, can be admin of their person repository, etc.).
Apart from these four cloud storage solutions, one can go with services like Omnidrive, Mozy, Xdrive, etc. All these cloud integration services are excellent and provide basic features that one expects.
These are some of the best places to store important documents online. If you are Indian, then do try DigiLocker which is free and completely safe (if you integrate it with Aadhaar number). Do let us know your thoughts on the same.
