The early days of cloud and mobile applications was a heady time. It seems the sky was the limit (see what I did there?). Many services emerged and then disappeared without a trace. Others evolved and thrived. Perhaps I got a bit too carried away saying thrived, but they survived.
Cloud storage has since become an essential tool for individuals and businesses, offering convenience, seamless data sharing, and integration with various applications. However, is a public, subscription-based cloud service the only option? More importantly, is it the best choice for safeguarding your valuable data?
The changing landscape of cloud services
Change of course is a constant in the technology sector. Change is inevitable and the freemium model of many cloud services is rarely sustainable in the long term.
It is designed to attract users into an ecosystem when it is in it’s infancy, then these free offerings often become increasingly restrictive over time, nudging (or railroading) users towards paid subscriptions.
This is a common business strategy. As companies scale, they need to monetise their user base. To be fair, none of us would work for free either right?
Evernote: A case of restrictive evolution
When Evernote launched in 2008, it revolutionised note-taking with cloud synchronisation across multiple devices.
Initially the free tier was generous, supporting up to three devices and an unlimited number of notes. Over time, the device limit was reduced to two, then eventually dropping to a single device and capping the number of notes. These limitations, along with persistent subscription prompts, alienated many long-time users.
For users who had invested years of data into Evernote, transitioning away became increasingly difficult. I know of people who ponied up for the subscription simply because they found the prospect of transitioning out daunting.
I personally left the Evernote ecosystem after the first wave of restrictions, not due to cost, but because reliability issues—such as synchronisation conflicts and lost data—rendered the service impractical.
When it was a freemium product, shortcomings were something I was willing to put up with to a degree. But as a paid offering, I expect it to deliver the functions it is meant to offer. Losing data due to poor design or programming, why would I torture myself?
I know a guy who lost 18 months worth of irreplaceable notes from when he travelled and lived in the UK. Before anyone jumped down my throat, we are both highly skilled technical people yet it still happened to us.
In 2013, Evernote suffered a security breach which resulted in all 50 million users at the time advised to change their passwords.
Dropbox: Freemium to Premium
Dropbox has maintained its freemium model since inception, offering 2GB of free storage with three connected devices. You could earn an additional 500MB per referral.
Over time however, referral bonuses have diminished from 25GB down to 16GB. At the same time file sizes have increased, making the free tier progressively less practical. While Dropbox continues to offer convenience and premium features such as Dropbox Sign, its push toward paid plans has been inevitable.
Moreover, Dropbox has faced multiple security breaches, including a 2012 attack that compromised 68 million accounts and a 2024 breach affecting Dropbox Sign. These incidents, coupled with an increased focus on data privacy, have raised concerns about relying on public cloud storage.
The need for a private cloud alternative
While public cloud services such as Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox and Evernote remain popular, they come with inherent risks:
- Loss of Data Control: Cloud providers retain access to stored files for compliance and metadata processing.
- Policy and Pricing Changes: Service providers can modify terms, storage limits, and pricing structures at will.
- Security Vulnerabilities: High-profile breaches highlight the risks of third-party data storage.
Going back to point one, for example Dropbox stresses that they do not access your files. However, Dropbox also has an automated process that generates hashes for every file you store on their service.
What is a file hash value you ask? Think of it as an unique fingerprint for every single file you created and stored on Dropbox. When Dropbox hashes your files, it is also compared against a list of copyrighted hashes.
To be fair this is a perfectly legitimate function and a difficult area for Dropbox to function in. Dropbox does hold US-EU Safe Harbour Certification. But this does not protect your data from points two and three above.
Further, there are gaps in the Dropbox data encryption strategy. Dropbox does not offer end-to-end encryption for non-Business accounts. Dropbox files are encrypted at rest and in transit but Dropbox holds the encryption keys. They actually advise you to encrypt your own data first if you want that level of protection. How many people would go the extra step?
Lastly, cloud storage providers often analyse data to improve services, deliver targeted advertising, or comply with government surveillance requests. Like it or not, there is a level of unwanted data scrutiny.
A viable alternative is a private cloud solution, where data remains under the user’s control. Although there is an initial investment, the benefits include enhanced privacy, greater control, and elimination of ongoing subscription fees.
On-going Fees
Subscription is all rage. Just look at Netflix, Disney, Stan, Spotify, Tidal and the like.
Just for a bit of outrage, car manufacturers are forcing subscriptions on features like seat warmers and remote start. Then again with the way some people drive, you would be forgiven thinking that indicators are a subscription feature too. That’s why people don’t use indicators right??
Dropbox of course operates on a subscription-based model. To move up from the paltry 2GB base free model, you need to fork out either monthly or annually for the privilege.
Dropbox plans:
- Dropbox Plus (2TB) is A$18.69/month or A$184.67/year
- Dropbox Essentials (3TB) is A$30.79/month or A$306.90/year
- Dropbox Business (9TB) is A$27.50/month or A$277.20/user/year
- Dropbox Business Plus (15TB) is A$43.45/month or A$435.60/user/year
Evernote plans:
- Evernote Personal is A$17.99/month or A$159.99/year
- Evernote Professional is A$22.49/month or A$209.99/year
- Evernote Teams is A$29.99/month or A$299.99/year
These costs can escalate quickly if you have multiple users and large amounts of data.
So if you stop and count what you are forking out for subscription services each month, it could be quite eye opening. And of course the prices are constantly increasing. The latest move from Netflix is the discontinuation of the Netflix basic tier – the lowest ad-free tier which was valid for a single device. The next tier is roughly double the cost.
The uncomfortable truth is, when you are invested in the ecosystem, you are effectively held to ransom.
Arbitrary Limitations
This dovetails from the comment on car manufacturers. Providers are arbitrarily limiting features and functions in order to extract recurring revenue from the userbase.
For example, Dropbox imposes bandwidth and daily download limits for the basic account. If you are wondering, it is 20GB of bandwidth and up to 100,000 file downloads per day.
If your sharing activity exceeds the allowed limits, then your ability to use Dropbox sharing functionality is suspended for 24 hours for the first infraction. Subsequent infractions “will result in suspensions longer than 24 hours”.
This can be trigger by:
- Share a link with someone who then shares it with a large number of people, resulting in numerous file downloads.
- Share a link with someone who downloads it multiple times.
- Request files and receive a large number of uploads.
- Request files and someone uploads the same file multiple times.
- Request files and the recipient forwards that request to other users, who all upload files.
- So if you are sharing a 4K video of an important family event to your extended family, as I have recently, you could run headlong into trouble.
Third-Party Dependencies
Cloud services rely heavily on collaboration tools. In Dropbox’s example they offer file versioning and integration with services such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
However this also comes with limitations. For starters collaboration requires a constant connection to Dropbox’s servers.
Secondly file-sharing links can be restricted or expired depending on Dropbox policies at the time. Imagine for a minute you have a set of files with interdependent links and they are suddenly expired or changed.
Lastly free Dropbox accounts have a limit of 30 days version history.
A powerful self-hosted alternative: Synology
At DRN we are strong advocates of the Synology ecosystem. Synology DiskStations are Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices that are powered by DiskStation Manager (DSM) – a feature-rich storage operating system that undergoes continuous innovation and enhancement.
Synology prioritises security, addressing critical vulnerabilities within 24 hours, far exceeding the industry average of sixty days for zero-day exploits.
Your Data, Your Rules
With a Synology NAS, data ownership is entirely in your hands.
Your files reside on hardware you control, within your own network. DSM enables full end-to-end encryption via AES-256, with encryption keys managed by the user, ensuring that no third party holds the keys to access your data.
You dictate access permissions and define data maintenance policies, eliminating the risk of any outsiders having any level of control over it.
Cost-Effectiveness: A One-Time Investment
Unlike subscription-based cloud services, a Synology DiskStation requires only an initial investment. For example, an entry-level single-bay DiskStation (approx A$255) with a 2TB hard drive (approx A$100) provides 200 times the storage of Dropbox’s free plan, without recurring costs or third-party restrictions.
The bonus here is that with the entry cost, you have access to all that DSM has to offer including NoteStation (Evernote alternative) and Photos (Google Photos, iCloud Photos alternatives) just to name two.
Of course a base single disk solution carries a single point of failure risk. You could mitigate it with the Synology C2 cloud backup service which is a subscription model. Alternatively you could just opt for an old school local backup to an external drive.
No Bandwidth Limitations
Unlike Dropbox which imposes bandwidth and daily download caps, Synology NAS allows unrestricted local and remote access. File transfer speeds depend solely on your network infrastructure, ensuring optimal performance without arbitrary restrictions.
Remote access is subject only to the speed of your internet connection. Synology Drive offers ability to cache files on your workstation for faster and offline access. There is no loss of functionality compared to other cloud offerings.
Collaboration Features
File versioning within Synology Drive is limited solely by available storage capacity, rather than by an arbitrary time constraint like Dropbox’s 30-day version retention policy. This ensures long-term data integrity and flexibility.
For team collaboration, Synology Office—available as a free DSM package —serves as a compelling alternative to Google Docs and Microsoft 365. Documents remain compatible with external formats, facilitating smooth integration with third-party platforms when necessary.
Scalable and Modular Storage
Synology DiskStation solutions range from single-bay units to enterprise-grade systems capable of supporting up to 300 drive bays. Expansion options include upgrading to larger capacity drives or integrating external storage via USB or eSATA connections. This scalability ensures that your storage infrastructure evolves with your needs, whether for personal use or large-scale enterprise applications.
Uninterrupted Access—Even Offline
Unlike cloud-based storage, Synology Drive ensures that your files remain accessible within your local network, even in the event of an internet outage. With full control over uptime and data availability, businesses and professionals can rely on a stable and secure storage solution without disruption.
My NBN was down for over 24 hours recently, but I still had full access to my files because they all resided within my network.
Conclusion: Time to Take Back Control
While cloud based services such as Evernote and Dropbox provides ease of uptake, it comes with privacy concerns, recurring costs, bandwidth limitations and storage restrictions.
Public cloud subscription costs can add up significantly:
- Dropbox Plus (2TB): A$184.67/year
- Evernote Personal: A$159.99/year
- iCloud+ (50GB): A$17.88/year
- Google One (100GB): A$20/year
If you add just the top two services above, just one year’s subscription for a single user is enough to cover the upfront cost of a base level Synology NAS.
Synology DiskStation offers a robust, self-hosted alternative that gives you:
- Full control over your data
- No recurring costs
- Faster file access and transfers
- Secure collaboration tools
- Flexible and expandable storage
- Stronger security measures
- Reliable offline access
- Multiple user access without addition costs
If you are:
- assessing the cost of your recurring cloud subscriptions,
- value privacy,
- cost-effectiveness,
- total control over your data
then it is a good time to consider taking the leap to invest in your own cloud.
For a household with multiple users, the costs quickly escalate. In contrast, investing in a Synology NAS provides long-term storage, privacy, and data control, at a comparable one-time expense. It is quite a compelling argument to make.
