Dropbox vs Amazon Zocalo

You can use Dropbox via website, by installing a desktop client that creates a folder that you simply drag and drop files into, or with their mobile app. Everything synchronizes across all devices used and cloud storage. And Dropbox offers easy methods of sharing whatever is within it.

Dropbox is available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, OS X and Linux. By having a client for so many OS's pretty much anyone is covered no matter what kind of device or OS they are using.

Using a desktop client: right click on the folder you want to share and select Dropbox > Share This Folder, then enter the e-mail addressees of people you want to share the folder with.

If a small portion of the file is changed it sends/receives only the differences (not the whole file), which is fast and bandwidth-efficient.

Whether using desktop client or web interface, simply right click on the file you want to share and select Dropbox > Share link, then send the link to the people you want to share the file with. The recipient does not require a Dropbox account.

Dropbox personal accounts start out free, with 2GB of space, but users can get extra space by recommending the site to friends, or taking part in events like "Dropquest", where users can win extra space by solving puzzles.

Dropbox offers native Linux support, integrates with Nautilus file manager.

As long as you have enough storage available, you can upload files of any size using Dropbox desktop client.

To save bandwidth and download speed you can choose to compress a folder into a zip archive for download.

To not slow down the network or save traffic you can limit the upload and download speeds of Dropbox.

There are official and third-party Dropbox add-ons that extend the functionality of the service and add ease of use of existing features.

Additionally, Dropbox can be integrated with existing applications to bring its functionality to other apps.

Dropbox keeps deleted and earlier versions of files for a month.

Your files always synced online means instant disaster recovery. When your hard drive becomes unbootable, pick up another laptop and just carry on with your life from where you last saved.

You get extra free space for you and your friend if they sign up.

Amazon Zocalo lets users quickly access and gather feedback on files. Users can comment on files, send them to others for feedback, and upload new versions without emailing files as attachments. Teammates can leave comments by highlighting a section of a file, or specific text, and typing feedback. Users can set optional deadlines for feedback, track files that are out for review, and are notified by email when they have been asked to provide feedback. Amazon Zocalo automatically stores previous versions of every file so that users do not have to. Amazon Zocalo uses an innovative overlay technology that enables users to see all the comments from others that they have been working with consolidated in one place. Microsoft Word users who prefer working with comments directly in a Word document can download a version of the document with the comments included.

Amazon Zocalo can integrate with your existing Active Directory. This means that your users can easily access Amazon Zocalo using their existing Active Directory credentials, and allows you to control which users in your organization are permitted to access the service.

Amazon Zocalo offers flexible security settings and access controls to manage data storage and sharing. You can use policies to control users’ sharing behavior, choose the AWS Region where your users’ data is stored, and view audit logs to track document and user activity. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and users don’t have to send documents as email attachments.

Priced at $5 per user per month, including 200 GB of storage, Amazon Zocalo is a low cost solution that is also fully managed. This means that there is no hardware to purchase and maintain and no software to deploy. You simply enable Amazon Zocalo for your organization and invite users. A 30-day free trial for up to 50 users with 200 GB of storage per user is available to help you get started.

Amazon Zocalo provides users with a central location for both the documents and files they are reviewing as well as those they own and are soliciting feedback on. With all these files in one location, reviewers have access to all of the related feedback in a single web view, making reading or contributing comments as simple as a few clicks.

Users can access files stored in Amazon Zocalo and view and leave feedback on files anywhere, anytime, from the device of their choice. Users can leverage the Amazon Zocalo apps for iPad, Kindle Fire, and Android tablets. The Amazon Zocalo Sync client lets users have files saved on their computer automatically uploaded to Amazon Zocalo over an encrypted connection and synced across their other devices.