Syncplicity – Making Data Backup Simple

 
Don’t forget to read my review of other databackup softwares including Carbonite and Mozy
 

Sometime back I had reviewed Carbonite – Data Backup Software. This time I will look at another popular option for databackups : Syncplicity. As you can guess from the name Syncplicity’s main aim is to make databackup as simple as possible. Syncplicity has comes in two flavours. The free edition supports two computers and allows you to store upto 2 GB of data. The pro edition which costs $9 per month supports unlimited computers, allows you to store 2 GB of data. This is technically less than Carobonite (which offers you unlimited space), but should be more than enough for almost everyone. Free users can add upto 3GB and premium users can add upto 6 GB of storage space by inviting their friends.

Synplicity’s client is available for Windows and Mac. Unfortunately no Linux version is available. After installation the client will offer to automatically synchronize your Documents. You can manually add any folder you want to be backed up by adding them to the list either from the client or from the right click context menu. Surprisingly enough I couldn’t find a way to directly backup selected files. The only way to selectively backup a file seems to add the folder to the list and manually exclude all other files from being backed up. Like Carbonite Data Backup Syncplicity makes use of little icons to inform you about the synchronisation status of the file.

Although I have been referring to Syncplicity as a data backup program, its actually much more. It goes beyond what a traditional backup software would do. Syncplicity can be used for syncing as well as sharing data. You can easily make any data public and share it with others. Undoubtedly, the biggest asset of Syncplicity is to keep a folder located on different computers in sync (synchronised). Another very unique ability of Syncplicity is to associate itself with online apps like Facebook, Picnic, Google Docs, Scribd and Zoho. With Synplicity you can keep your offline documents and online documents (in Zoho or Google Docs) in sync. Just select a folder to be synced with Zoho or Google Docs from the right click context menu and Syncplicity will take care of the rest. Besides this you can preview any document in Scribd or edit any image in Picnic. I loved how Syncplicity merges the online and offline world and makes effective use of 3rd party online applications to increase value.

It is these small niceties that make Syncplicity a winner. I would have loved to be able to just select single files to be backed up but that is my only real grudge. Syncplicity works perfectly and has many small unique touches that makes it better than others. If you are looking for a simple online data backup service using Syncplicity makes a lot of sense.

Syncplicity Home Page
Platforms Supported : Windows Xp/Vista/7 and Mac Leopard (Intel Only)
License : Free (2 GB Storage Space – 2 computers) and Premium (50 GB Storage Space – Unlimited computers for $9 per month)