Post 2 – Pros and Cons

Here are some of the Pros and Cons of Cloud-based Servers. From Maddie, Kiya, and Catrina.

Google

Pros

• Free 15 GB of storage
• Cost-effective ($2.79/month for 100 GB)
• Expanding offices into Canada
• Easy to navigate- categories, folders, recent (if forgotten to sort), search bar
• Easy sharing/collaboration
• Option to set sharing preferences (who can edit, only view, public or private file)
• Commenting, chat in documents
• Most versatile free platform
• Databases around the world to back up & secure information
• Documents can be modified without wifi
• Easy access from almost any device
• Google account can be used to sign into multiple websites, apps, and services

Cons

• Databases around the world in countries with different privacy laws
• Documents do not automatically save to device for offline use
• The smartphone apps are more difficult to navigate
• At risk of crashing & losing information (like any cloud-based system)

Microsoft

Below are the Pros and Cons for Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office has been around the longest and is still running so it’s safe to say Office is a successful software.

Pros

• Applications for all needs: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, One Note 
• Other applications for more business services: Publisher, Project, Teams, Visio
• SKYPE is a very popular Microsoft application for video calls and conferences
• Work on your documents from anywhere with access to the internet
• Boosted productivity: easy to use, team collaboration (office co-authoring tool), regular automatic updates to the software
• Reduced security risks: encrypted email, data loss prevention, mobile device management, advanced threat analytics
• Around since 1988 and is most used cloud-based software (i.e. great reputation)
• Multiple flexible plans catered to businesses of all sizes

Cons

• Need a Microsoft account to use the services
• Subscription-based payment (as a Uvic student we get these services for free)
• If the internet is down you cannot access your document from another device
• Competition with other cloud-based services in schools ( SD63 is using google exclusively)

Apple 

Below are some of the Pros and Cons of Apple’s iWork system and the devices themselves. iWork was first introduced in 2005 and has grown since then. 

Pros

• Applications for all needs: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and iCloud
• Other applications on the Apple System include iMovie, Garageband and Photobooth
• Free for all iOs and macOS customers
• Applications are intuitive for beginners
• Has started using peer-collaborating on documents (only for other mac users)
• Apple works with educators to promote technology use in the classroom

Cons

• iCloud storage space is limited (only 5GB for free) 
• iWork is not supported on other devices (such as Windows or Android)
• Apple products can be pricey for schools/students