What exactly is cloud storage and how does it work?

As the saying goes, "the cloud is just somebody else's computer". While this is an oversimplication, in simple terms, cloud storage refers to objects/files that are saved in an off-site location as opposed to a local device.

Instead of managing hard drives and network connections to store and share files, with cloud storage, this can be done from any location at any time from any device with appropriate bandwidth and access permissions. An external organization holds the physical hard drives and manages the machines that allow users to connect to them, and access is done through an internet connection to the device(s) storing the data. This allows for easier sharing and collaboration, especially when users are in different locations, but at the cost of less control, since the files "physically" reside off-site.

However, while there is reduced control, it comes with minimal risks. While a storage provider does store the files on their owned machines, any reputable company can't simply delete an organization's data on a whim without massive consequences—unless the organization stops paying their bill. Even then, data is often retained for several months (in some cases indefinitely) while the account is suspended, and will only be deleted as a last resort.

With cloud storage adoption rising, many organizations find that the benefits outweigh the risks. These benefits include automatic backups and syncing, file sharing, co-editing, versioning, remote access, scalability, and no physical infrastructure to manage.

While the primary purpose of cloud storage is to fulfil the above benefits, the specific way each platform achieves this goal is done in a different way. As a result, there are dozens of different cloud storage platforms, each with a specific focus, strengths, and weaknesses depending on which aspects of storage they find to be most useful.