Swapping cloud services is not something I advise doing often, but it may become necessary to change your Cloud Service provider. Whether you are unhappy with the cost of service, the company providing your service, or if you want something else, changing where you keep your files may be something you want to consider. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve actually done it myself one time. When you move your files over, the only concern is (Like any major move) something will get lost in the shuffle from point A to Point B. I found that there are a few different steps that you can take to make your transition as painless as possible.
1) Back everything up to an external hard drive – One of the simplest things you can do to make sure that you have a copy of all of your documents somewhere secure during your transition process is to back them up to an external hard drive. Having all of your data in a hard drive is something that you should be doing on a regular basis anyway, but making sure that you have the most recent backup will ensure that no files slip away.
2) Make sure everything is set up on your computer on both sides – Whether you’re using a Windows system or a Mac, You should be able to access your cloud system from your computer’s file directory. Whether that’s File Explorer for Windows or Finder for Mac, you should be able to set up your cloud filing system to be accessible on your computer’s file directory. When you’re transitioning between Cloud services, you can set up your file directory to have both Cloud services. This makes it much easier to transfer your files and any folder structure that you may want to swap over.
3) Don’t delete anything until you know everything has been transferred – If you’re in the process of transferring things, don’t delete as you go. Personally, I’m a big fan of the bulk move, which means I will take all of the files and any folder structures that I have set up in my previous Cloud system and do a simple “copy-paste” into the new system. If you’re concerned about losing data, you can swap things over one folder at a time, but I honestly wouldn’t worry about it that much. If you’ve set up both Cloud systems in your File Explorer, it should be a relatively simple thing to swap over. How long the swap will take does depend on how many files you have in your cloud system, but it shouldn’t take that long.
4) Make sure you know where your data is being stored – This is a security thing, but depending on where you live, you will want to make sure that the Physical servers housing your cloud data are physically located in your home county. The reason for this is to make sure that whatever legal protections you enjoy, your data will also enjoy. Another thing security related that you should do to ensure that you have the same level of Security on your new system that you do on your old one. This includes complex passwords and 2FA, which all of the big names for cloud Provides will have.
5) Remove your data from the old cloud and shut down the account – The last thing you need to do is remove your data from your old service. While conventional wisdom may have at one point been to simply shut down your account and leave it there, I believe it’s better to make sure that your account info has been deleted before you shut it down. Deleting your own data from your previous service is a simple way for your peace of mind. This also means that if someone other than you were to reactivate your account, then they will simply find an account with no data in it. If you were to simply shut down your account, all of your old data may or may not just be sitting there, waiting to be picked up. When you actively delete it before you shut down your account, you know it’s been removed.
Switching cloud accounts can seem stressful, but it really doesn’t need to be if you follow the steps that I’ve outlined here. Moving is always a bit of a process, no matter if it’s moving where you live or switching cloud service. There any many reasons to do this; perhaps the features in your current cloud system aren’t quite right, maybe they don’t have enough space for what you need. No matter our reasoning, making sure you take the appropriate steps to ensure an easy transition is critical.
Do you want to switch your cloud service?
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