Amazon Delivers Unlimited Cloud Storage

Amazon gives customers the option to choose from two unlimited storage plans on Cloud Drive.

Shadow IT: 8 Ways To Cope

(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)

Amazon is making a big move in the cloud storage space with a recent decision to bring unlimited cloud storage to Cloud Drive customers.

The e-commerce company announced March 26 that it's rolling out two plans designed to provide secure storage for users' existing content while also allowing them to automatically upload unlimited amounts of videos, music, photos, movies, and files to the cloud.

Customers with vast photo collections can choose the Unlimited Photos Plan, which will cost $11.99 per year, or less than $1 per month. This option provides endless photo storage in Cloud Drive and also includes 5GB of extra storage space for videos and other documents.

[Adobe Document Cloud Takes Aim at Paper]

For those with greater storage needs, Amazon is offering the Unlimited Everything Plan, which allows storage of new and existing documents, photos, videos, and music for $59.99 per year.

"Most people have a lifetime of birthdays, vacations, holidays, and everyday moments stored across numerous devices. And, they don't know how many gigabytes of storage they need to back all of them up," said Amazon Cloud Drive director Josh Petersen in the company's announcement. "With the two new plans we are introducing today, customers don't need to worry about storage space – they now have an affordable, secure solution to store unlimited amounts of photos, videos, movies, music, and files in one convenient place."

Both plans will be available for free three-month trial periods before their payment plans kick in. Amazon Prime customers and owners of the Kindle Fire, who already have access to unlimited photo storage, can choose to upgrade their plan. Current customers of Cloud Drive can switch plans via their account page.

This announcement makes Amazon a stiff competitor in the ever-growing cloud space, which is crowded with providers like Google, Apple, Dropbox, and Microsoft, battling for market share with cheap storage. Amazon's endless storage will likely prove a tempting option for consumers with ever-growing piles of digital documents.

Attend Interop Las Vegas, the leading independent technology conference and expo series designed to inspire, inform, and connect the world's IT community. In 2015, look for all new programs, networking opportunities, and classes that will help you set your organization’s IT action plan. It happens April 27 to May 1. Register with Discount Code MPOIWK for $200 off Total Access & Conference Passes.