If one of your 2013 resolutions isn’t to get all of your critical files backed up to multiple safe locations, including the cloud, then it certainly isn’t too late to make it one.

It isn’t necessary for us to delve into why it makes good sense (if you don’t understand that, this article isn’t for you) to back up your data, suffice it to say that the more your data is backed up, the better.

But where and how you choose to back up your data will have a material impact on the convenient functioning of your life.

Cloud storage is a vital brick in your defense against total or partial data loss, and while some argue that poor internet reliability and speed in South Africa removes cloud storage as an option for a total back up solution, we’re sticking by it, if only for the convenience of being able to access and edit your files remotely.

In the spirit of getting your life administration jacked up to acceptable levels, we present four awesome cloud storage solutions, and their comparative strengths and weaknesses. For the sake of benchmarking value, we’ve taken the liberty of comparing what you’d get from each of these services for $9,99 a month.

Google Drive

You get 5GB free when you register a Gmail account. $9,99 a month gets you 200GB.

Features:

Online document editing with option to save all versions of a document up to 100 revisions.

File upload size limit of 10GB on desktop application and website.

Selective folder syncing. Allows you to sync only files or folders you need when you access your files from another computer.

Available for Windows and Mac OS. No native support for Linux.

Available on iOS and Android.

Two step verification for security.

SnapDisk 

1TB Backup storage space, 500GB of Sync storage space. Total combined storage of 1,5TB for $9,99 a month.

Features:

Backup scheduler for automatic and selective back up times.

Unlimited number of computers for file syncing.

Online document editing.

Selective folder syncing. Allows you to sync only files or folders you need when you access your files from another computer.

Stream uploaded media from the online interface.

Mobile and tablet apps for Android and iOS.

For advanced users: FTP or SFTP to access your files, and WebDAV access, lets view and edit files from within other apps.

Upload and download speeds are unlimited. Users have the option of setting parameters for upload and download speeds on their side.

Two step verification for security.

DropBox 

2GB free storage, with up to 20GB free storage gleaned from succesful referrals to DropBox (500MB per referral).

For more space, a 100GB Pro account will set you back $9,99 dollars a month. Their biggest package is 500GB for $49,99 a month.

Features:

Available on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

300MB upload size limit on the website.

No file upload size limit on the desktop application.

Share fom DropBox to your Facebook group.

Selective folder syncing. Allows you to sync only files or folders you need when you access your files from another computer.

Two step verification for security.

MicroSoft SkyDrive

Comes with 7GB free storage. Top plan is 100GB (plus the 7GB you started with) for $50 a year. Extrapolated to the $9,99 benchmark, that would give you just over 250GB for your $9,99 a month.

Features:

Available for Windows and Mac OS. No native support for Linux.

Available on iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile.

300MB upload size limit on the website.

2GB file upload size limit on the desktop application.

Online document editing with option to save all versions of a document up to 25 revisions.