Just about every business has a shared network drive they use to store common documents. So how can you do this for an office in the cloud?
After trying many different solutions, the one that is most flexible right now has to be GetDropBox.com
It installs easily on Mac and Windows (integrating with your Mac Finder or Windows Explorer). You can then drop files onto your DropBox and they are automatically replicated on to your private web drop box.
Share the folder with someone else, and they get to see the same directory on their desktop. You can add, change and delete files, and everyone’s copy is kept in sync.
If two people edit a file at once, GetDropBox is smart enough to recognise the conflict, but leaves you to resolve it. Because you both have separate files on your desktop, you won’t be stopped from opening the file.
Up to 2Gb of drop box is free, so it is easy to test out and see how well it works for you. You can pay a small monthly fee to increase the storage.
Is there a simpler network shared drive for the cloud office? I’m always on the lookout.
It’s not a true drive. You can’t map it as a network drive and save documents directly to the dropbox drive.
You don’t need to map your Dropbox folder as a network drive, it is a plain and simple local folder, with sub folders. Or directories/sub directories on Windows.
The contents of the local folders/directories are replicated to DropBox.com, and from there they are replicated to anyone else you have shared that folder with.