Review: SugarSync

Review: SugarSync

Introduction

Backup strategies rarely make edge of the seat reading and for the average man on the street it's usually something that will wait until tomorrow. At best the most thoughtful Joe Public might have a USB drive with his CV and photos stored on it. As an IT professional there's no escaping backup schedules and disaster recovery plans. Businesses take the integrity of their data very seriously and spend billions each to ensure it survives even the most devastating catastrophes. Fortunately for us mortals, Sharpcast have a new plan, and it's aimed firmly at you and me. SugarSync is a hosted backup solution that can even keep your data synchronised across multiple machines..... including your Pocket PC! Is SugarSync the enterprise quality backup solution wrapped in a family friendly UI we've all been waiting for? Read on to find out.....

For your delectation screenshots are thumbnails which may be clicked on to load a larger image.
Thanks go out to Sharpcast for providing us with a review copy.
For more information on Sharpcast and the SugarSync software go to the SugarSync Website

Installation Once you've registered at Sugarsync, the back-end server part of the SugarSync process is setup automatically by Sharpcast. This includes your basic Photo and Web console access. Once done, you'll then need to configure all of your clients, PC's and Pocket PC's so that they can access your new services. There are several different methods of accessing your online data with SugarSync, and we'll cover the Web and Mobile forms later. The desktop installation options come in various guises. Whilst there is no client per se involved in using the web browser front end, to make file uploading easier you may want to install the Adobe flash web add-on. This is a 1.4MB installation file available directly from Adobe. The Sync aspect installation comes in two formats. Firstly there is the desktop client available for XP and Vista, and a just released beta version client for Macs (OSX 10.4+). Secondly there is a mobile device client available for WM5 and WM6. There's also a mobile client for something called a Blackberry or something..... The full windows download is a mere 6.7MB with the MAC beta topping a rather chunky 18.3MB. The windows mobile installation application is a mere 244k.

The mobile client is simple to install. You simply logon to the mobile web browser and select the download SugarSync mobile link. The miniscule 244k cab file will then download and install in the usual windows mobile fashion. The desktop/laptop installation is also relatively straight forward. Run the exe file, accept the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) and select a file path.

Once installed you are prompted to enter some simple details to identify your machine within your personal SugarSync environment. You get to select a name and an image. From here you have the option to setup initial directories that will automatically synchronise. The default options list is populated with the "Documents" (My Documents on XP) directory and its branches; My Photos, My Music etc. There is also an option to add any of your other directories at this point too by clicking on the "Add" button. This will display a list of folders you can browse through and select.

Desktop Client The web client is integral to the operation of SugarSync on the desktop, and I'll look at that soon, but the real engine room of SugarSync is the desktop client. Once installed and configured, the desktop client not only provides fast access to your web storage but it also takes much of the thought out of backing up your important information. As long as you have configured your desktop client sufficiently at installation time simply saving your files into the selected folders on your PC will ensure SugarSync automatically backs up the latest version of your files to your web space.

The whole "Sync" aspect of SugarSync can really be summed up using two words; "Magic" and "Briefcase". The Magic Briefcase is, to quote the hugely informative help system: the easiest way to sync files between all your computers. It is a folder that SugarSync automatically creates in your Documents folder ("My Documents\Magic Briefcase" on PC "/Documents/Magic Briefcase" on Mac) when you install SugarSync Manager on your computer. Any file or folder you put into your Magic Briefcase on one computer will automatically sync to the Magic Briefcase folder on all your other computers. Any changes you make to a file in this folder (add, edit, delete, rename) will sync across all your devices. You can also view and modify the files in your Magic Briefcase on your Personal Website when you are away from your computer. I thought about rewording this with fancy metaphors but the official description says it all. My wife and I have even begun using the Magic Briefcase to maintain a shopping list that can obviously be easily accessed via mobile client while in the supermarket. Sweet.

Another one of the many nicely implemented features of SugarSync is the help function. When you select help from either the web or desktop clients a browser window opens containing a hyper-linked knowledge base. I found the help database to be well organised, and formatted in a logical fashion. Every time I had a query about SugarSync the help facility came to my rescue without the need to wade through pages of uninteresting technical garbage. It's what all help systems should be like. I do have a couple of gripes about the implementation of the desktop client. If you make changes to reasonably large files that are part of your sync plan you'll find that the client will lock the file while it tries to upload it to the SugarSync servers over the web. The slower your broadband speed the longer the file will be locked for. Unfortunately you do not get an understandable error message either when you try and use the file, just access denied. I'm surprised SugarSync doesn't cache the file before attempting the low bandwidth transfers for this very reason. It can be a little frustrating at times having to wait for the sync to finish before you can get on with your work. Another issue I have is with the lack of support for the standard Microsoft Mail and Contact applications. At present if you use an Exchange mailbox or Outlook for your mail and contacts SugarSync cannot access, or use the information stored within. You can obviously backup to PST and then store this online but this is not ideal. Hopefully Sharpcast will address this in the future.

Web Client If you're not at home and want to access your files, fear not, as the SugarSync web client is the same browser based application you use to access your SugarSync content on your home PC. You simply log in, and are presented with the familiar File Manager and Photo Gallery tabs. Also present are the Downloads, Account, Address Book, Help and logon/off options. The user interface of the web client is aesthetically very pleasing and organised in a very logical fashion. Everything is just about where you'd expect it to be and the icons are very nicely drawn. It's as good an example of an intuitive UI as I've seen in a long while. The file manager tab performs in much the same way the file explorer does in Windows and because of this it's a breeze to operate. There's a column on the left hand side of the window which lists your currently selected machine (with a drop down to select a different one) and the directories you have set up to sync on that machine. There is also the Magic Briefcase, Mobile photos, Web Archive and Deleted Files. I've already covered the Magic Briefcase folder, and I'll get to the Mobile Photos shortly. The Web Archive is a place to permanently archive a copy of your files. All your files in SugarSync are backed up, but if you want to store a particular version of a file, you can put it in the Web Archive. Deleted Files does exactly what it says on the tin and stores the files you have deleted. Again to take a comparison with Windows it's the Recycle bin equivalent. As I stated earlier the file manager operation itself is simple enough. You select the file or files you wish to perform an action on by clicking the check box, then click the down arrow to the right of the filename to see what operations are available. Alternatively once selected you can use the top bar to perform various actions like Zip, Copy, Move and delete. Also on the top bar are New Folder and Upload File options.

As with the file manager view the Photo Albums are organised in an easy to learn and logical fashion. When you upload your photos you create an album and give it a name. Once created you can then view your albums and drill down into their contents. There's a nice slide show option you can use to view the photographs as well the file list type album browser. As well as viewing your Photo Albums on-line and storing your photos SugarSync gives you the option of sharing your albums with your family and friends. On the right hand side of the Photos tab you can choose to allocate access to your album to the world. When somebody then access the URL of your public website (http://<your username>.sugarsync.com) you can they can see all the albums you've "published". This is a great way to share your photos with your family and friends. If your family and friends have their own SugarSync accounts you can be more restrictive and allow your albums access to certain contacts only, selected by their email address.

I've tried the SugarSync web client on Internet Explorer 6, 7 and Firefox 2 browser and had no issues between any of the platforms. The Firefox compatibility is especially helpful if you find yourself at a Linux box. In the bottom left hand corner of the web console is a nice unobtrusive storage indicator letting you know at a glance how much of your allocation you've used, and has a link to the upgrade page should you wish to increase your capacity by selecting a different plan.

Mobile Client The mobile client comes in two parts. There's the downloadable aspect and the mobile web client. These two aspects of mobile SugarSync work in tandem to make up the full suite of mobile functionality. The mobile web client effectively gives you a mobile formatted version of the your real-time PC client. From this web client you can browse your backup files and download them to your windows mobile device. This works very well for storing CAB files etc. Unfortunately there is no current feature allowing you to transfer your files from your mobile back up to the PC. This would be very useful for when you purchase new software as you could back up the cab without any need for a PC. The folks at Sharpcast have advised this feature is due to be implemented into Sugarsync by the end of the year.

NOTE: One important point to note is that both on the PC and the Pocket PC SugarSync can consume a lot of data transferring files to and from web storage. Unless you have unlimited data access plans on both your PC based and Mobile Broadband connections you need to be very mindful of the amount of data you set up to sync automatically.

The second aspect of the mobile partnership is the SugarSync mobile program itself. The main functionality this allows is the automatic synchronisation of the photos you take with your Mobile's camera. I thought this feature was very cool, and it's very well executed. You basically take your picture and a couple of seconds later, as if by magic, the image is there on your PC, on your web client and of course on your mobile. Sweet. The biggest problem with the mobile photo sharing is actually the very poor quality of HTC's cameras. As you can see from the image I shared, my cat was wholly unimpressed by my Orbit2's camera! Apparently it adds pounds to your Kitty!! (Bad camera angle, trust me..... )

Security I've looked at on-line backup options from third party companies a fair few times over the years, and there are two things that always bothered me. The first is the security of the data itself. Is it stored with encryption? Do they backup my backups? Sharpcast claim that your data is always transferred over SSL using 128-bit AES encryption, and is mirrored across two separate carrier grade data centres. All good there then.

My second fear is a little different. What happens if heaven forbid, Sharpcast go out of business? What is the expected life cycle of SugarSync, and what happens to my data when I cancel my account? The last thing any of us want is a hard disk with our family pictures on turning up on Ebay. I posed my security worries to Sharpcast. Here's what they came back with: - If a customer cancels their account, we purge their data from our servers after their subscription period ends. For customers' convenience, we do keep their data for a short period of time in case they change their mind. However, long-term, the data is erased so that customers do not have to worry about their data being on our servers. - If Sharpcast goes out of business, we would give customers the time and ability to get all of their assets off our servers (if they do not have copies themselves). We would also make sure that all customer data can only be accessed by the customer. That's pretty much laid my fears to rest from that perspective.

Value SugarSync comes in several packages to choose from, each offering a larger amount of storage for an increasing cost. After your initial 45 days no strings attached trial you can continue with the 10GB of storage for $2.49 a month, or alternatively pay a single yearly charge which effectively offers you 12 months for the price of 10. The packages available are as follows (note all prices are in US dollars): Free 45 days 10GB trial Starter Plan 10GB - $2.49/mth $24.99/yr Basic Plan 30GB - $4.99/mth $49.99/yr Premium Plan 60GB - $9.99/mth $99.99/yr Professional Plan 100GB - $14.99/mth $149.99/yr Business Plan 250GB - $24.99/mth $249.99/yr Obviously everybody will have their own requirements and so different plans will suit different people. In my opinion though, the Starter and Basic plans offer exceptional value. The 30GB Basic plan would probably cover all your family's documents and photos for the cost of a single beer (UK pub prices) once a month.

Pros	Cons
Nice layout	Upload sync sometimes locks files
Excellent PC client	No Exchange contact sync
Good mobile client on its own URL (m.sugarsync.com)	No ability to upload files from your mobile
Dynamic storage limit display	Timeout error crashes program
Easy to pull new image files into a picture gallery	Adobe install kicked out SugarSync client
Ability to share albums with certain contacts or publicly	No delete albums function
Good help function	2GB file limit
RSS feed for photo albums	File delete on web browser warns "The file will also be deleted on the desktop", but it doesn't
Excellent mobile photo sync feature	Date modified is not local time but Server time
Easy to retrieve files from mobiles web	Cannot remove computers from Sugarsync
Undo facility on delete
SSL upload
128-bit AES encryption
Data is stored in two separate carrier grade data centres

4WM Rating 88%

Conclusion There are a few features I'd like to see included in SugarSync that would turn it into the complete backup solution and these are mainly Exchange based. One thing worth noting though is that if you have a hosted or corporate Exchange account the majority of these requests will be taken care of already. Some of those that aren't like the network/NAS backup facility are already on the Sharpcast shortlist and should be addressed by Sharp soft by the end of the year. Good news indeed. From a file sharing perspective it's only the lack of a mobile upload function that prevents SugarSync from really hitting the mark for me, and again this is something that Sharpcast are addressing. The PC aspect is already excellent and other than a couple of aesthetic tweaks is perfect both from a client and web perspective. In its current version SugarSync offers a very flexible, easy to use backup solution for what is effectively the price of a beer every month. It's a great product at an attractive price point and I'm not sure about you, but one less pint wouldn't do me any harm!