Thursday, January 17, 2008

SugarSync backs up & syncs everything - it may be everything I'm looking for

Today Read/Write/Web had an exclusive review and presentation of Sharpcast's new SugarSync product.  Though SugarSync is in closed beta, RWW had 1500 invites, and I scored one (thanks guys!!).  In a nutshell, SugarSync syncs and backs up all of your data into the cloud (their secure servers) and allows you to use your data from practically any device, including your mobile phone.

According to RWW, Sharpcast CEO, Gibu Thomas, calls this ability to use, back-up and sync data across multiple devices the the "holy grail" of web apps.  I would agree with his assertion.

Other applications handle some of this.  I've been impressed with DocSyncer, for example, and have written about it here and here.  Though it keeps your stuff synced in real-time, it only keeps your Microsoft Office/Google Docs stuff synchronized.  Several times over the last couple of days I've been over at our community center working on things when I needed a file.  I thought, no problem, I'll log into DocSyncer ....ooops.  Then I'd remember it wasn't a Word doc, it was a PDF file.  Nuts, now I have go back to my house and grab my laptop/flashdrive/etc.

SugarSync brings everything into the cloud; everything you tell it to, that is.  It also works in real-time.  When you modify a document on your computer, it is synced to the SugarSync secure servers.  If you create a document on a public computer you can, through SugarSync's secure web portal, sync that doc back to your home computer or laptop.

image A free account will apparently get your 1GB of storage, with upgrades available.  I am only syncing a portion of my "My Documents" and it weighed in at 2.4 GB.  Fortunately, extra space is free during the beta period.  Oh, and did I mention that with my awesome Kosovar Internet, it will take 15 days to sync up all my stuff?  Once it's uploaded, however, synchronization is reportedly quite fast.

Again, this product is in closed beta, but keep your eyes open for it, and read the article at RRW.  There is a huge amount of potential for this product, especially for those of us who travel regularly, and like to travel light.

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