The web interface gives you full access to any files that are stored online. Managing files in this way is easy, and you can drag-and-drop files and folders to reorganise them. Files can be downloaded, but we like the Edit on your computer link, which opens a file on the local desktop and uploads the changes back to the online storage. To upload new files the web page contains a Java app for drag-and-drop uploads. It worked well on Chrome running under Windows 7.
For mobile access, there are apps for iOS and Android. They're similar in function to the DropBox app, and let you download, rename and upload files to your online storage. There's some neat integration with handsets, too; from our Android phone we could take photos and video that were then uploaded automatically to the shared storage space. Files and folders can also be shared and, crucially, un-shared.
As a way to securely backup and synchronise files, plus provide easy online collaboration, SafeSync is an easy-to-use and accomplished product. Picking between this service and DropBox for Teams is quite tricky. DropBox has the slightly better desktop client, and is the more flexible product. You start out with five users and 350GB of storage, but can add extra users without extra disk space and buy 100GB packs of storage when you need them; however, it's more expensive per user, starting at $159 (around 97) per user for the initial five users, then dropping to $125 (around 77) per user thereafter.
SafeSync's price depends on how many users will be using the service as well as how far in advance you pay.
By comparison, SafeSync is cheaper per user, coming down to just 50 per user if you buy enough seats. While you can't add more storage separately, at 50 per user for 50GB, SafeSync actually works out cheaper than adding 100GB to DropBox: 100 per year for SafeSync compared to $200 (around 123) for DropBox. Given that SafeSync also has better file permissions, it's the better choice for business, although the administrator tools need improving before we can recommend it wholeheartedly and unreservedly.
Verdict
SafeSync is a good online storage service with competitive pricing and suitable access controls for businesses. It does need better administration controls though - at the moment it feels like a thinly-veiled version of the consumer service rather than one built specifically for business users.
Operating system: Windows XP SP3 (32-bit only), Windows Vista or Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit); MacOS X 10.5.8 or later RAM: 1GB Hard disk space: 50MB for installation Modern web browser Broadband internet connection
