I have been running a home business since I left my “traditional” job to take care of my son in 2002. Originally, I started working from home because I needed something to do. Within a few years, I started to ramp up my business to provide income for the household. Today, I have a very busy business or two with my partner in crime Shelly, as well as my personal business and adjunct teaching. What this means is that I spend hours every day on computers in the home.
I do have a full office, but I also have a laptop that I work on. My son and husband also have their laptops. Often I am on one computer and need something from my desk top. Or my son wants to access my documents and then has to go log in to the desk top to get what he needs. Honestly, it is a pain! I was thrilled to find out the you can have your own cloud! I have been dying to network my home and get everything in sync and being able to review a cloud unit from WD – Western Digital and it is a dream!
WD My Cloud EX2 high-performance NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a device that can hold all your files while providing anywhere access through a suite of desktop and mobile apps. The EX2 is a private cloud ideal for small office and home office businesses. It is similar to Dropbox™, SkyDrive® and Google Drive™ with key differences including one-time cost, greater storage capacity, and increased control.
Just like any small business, I produce a lot of documents in my work. I often need to access them for reference and I worry about back ups too. Right now I pay for off site backup on my main computer, but I have nothing set up for my laptop. I would love to have all of my documents in one location and now with this WD My Cloud, that is happening!
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the installation of the unit. I have memories of past hardware installs so I bribed my son to help me. Little did I know that it would take literally 5 minutes to set it up and another 10 minutes to install the software and be up and running. This was one of the easiest installations I have done. I could have saved my bribe!
Once the unit is connected to your router and plugged in, you visit the WD website and start the software install. It went every quickly and threw several icons on my desktop. I clicked through each of them to see what they were and to familiarize myself with all of the benefits and perks of private cloud storage. You can share documents, pictures, music, and videos; such a huge benefit with working multiple offices or on the road!
Sharing your existing documents and files to the WD My Cloud EX2 was as easy as running a simple prompt and dropping the files into the public folder. It makes a copy so you never lose the original. Accessing the files is as simple as assigning each computer and mobile device a name and password on the WD website. You can even access other cool systems through third party apps such as CMS systems like WordPress, Joomla, phpBB, phpMyAdmin and more. So cool! ==>> Amended this post to add, backing up your system has a few mores steps which are detailed in the direction booklet and on the WD site.
I am loving this new Western Digital Cloud storage. It is a dream come true for me and my small business and it is making my day so much easier. I want to share my top 5 Reasons Your Business Needs a WD My Cloud EX2 so here they are… although I really do have more than 5 reasons!
My Top 5 8 Reasons Your Business Needs a WD My Cloud EX2
• One time fee, no monthly charges
• Complete data control, backup, and protection
• High capacity and ultimate reliability
• Anytime, anywhere access to your files through remote access
• Add multiple computers and devices
• Simple and affordable sharing
• Easy to set up and manage!
• Stream Videos and photos to connected TV’s, gaming systems, media players and more
If you have a small business, you really need to get one of these systems for your office – home or brick and mortar. Having accessible cloud storage for small business just makes sense in today’s on-the-go busy marketplace. Now it is easy to be mobile and have all of your important documents, photos, media and others necessary files. Visit the Western Digital page and see how it will make your business run much smoother. You will wonder how you ever go along without it! I sure am!
Disclaimer: Thanks to Western Digital for supporting todays discussion. Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Oh sure! You can find them online from Western Digital. A must have for a small business! My Friend is going to buy one now that i told her about this
This really does sound like an ideal system for small business owners and I am gladf that you were able to procure it. I wonder if there is something similare on the east coast.