SugarSync that has long been viewed as a Gladiator in the hosted cloud storage service has decided to go mercenary. The company has announced that it is doing away with the free storage tiers for a ‘paid only’ service model. Current customers will still be able to access their files and are set to get discounts of up to 75%.
CEO Mike Grossman said that the company has decided not to offer free storage forever. He added that SugarSync is unique as compared to other service providers because it provides more than just basic file storage. Instead, the company offers premium services that offer unprecedented control and flexibility for prosumers and small businesses over their data through the unique multisync capabilities.
This basically means that the company is targeting more business clients. SugarSync is, in a way, pivoting since competitors like Google Drive, box and Dropbox are taking the oxygen from the casual cloud market.
The free accounts will be closed on 8th February 2014 while users can still sign up for a 5GB 90 day trial or a 60GB 30-day trial. However, SugarSync will attempt to monetize the customers as soon as possible instead of letting you keep your free storage.
Grossman indicated that there are many companies that giving away free storage, however, these companies may not be viable in the long run. He indicated that the company is already in a solid financial position and is set to further strengthen its business. This is definitely an interesting maneuver by one of the major players in a world with dozens of GBs for free.
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