In this digital age, data protection and backup is incredibly important. The basic rule is to always create a backup on an external hard-drive or on discs, but this is obviously not good enough. Do just one thing wrong, and you may never be able to recover your information ever again.

You can go one step further and have a network access storage (NAS) at home. This will allow you to backup information from multiple computers, so that it can be accessed by all the machines on the same network. This again is another kind of local storage, one which might be susceptible to issues similar to what hard-drives and other types of storage experience.

Think about all the valuable media or projects that you had brewing in your machine, only for one nasty current fluctuation to rip the life out of everything. So it was obvious that people had to maintain an off-shore base for storing files too, which brings us to cloud storage.

Cloud storage services have made it so much easier to backup content from computers and mobile devices. Cloud storage technology has evolved enough for the providers to start offering much bigger backups, with certain services even touting unlimited backups!

Not all these providers offer to backup your NAS devices though, so I have taken the opportunity to line up the few that do offer a NAS backup service. These are probably the best in the market right now, as there aren’t too many quality providers.

The Best Cloud Storage Providers For NAS Devices

Carbonite

Carbonite has been a long time player in the cloud storage market, and they have developed a pretty good reputation down the road. Let’s face it, NAS devices are mostly used by business’s, although there are a lot of people who like to have them at home.

Carbonite doesn’t offer NAS backup for personal plans, and although their prices might seem steep, you will be getting the bang for your buck. Carbonite’s cheapest PRO plan supports unlimited computers and NAS devices, but the offering isn’t technically unlimited- there is a 250GB limit.

If you consider how much you will be backing up per device, it works out to be a pretty reasonable deal. Unless you like dealing with Terabytes, which means you will literally need an UNLIMITED package.

• Probably the best option, reliable
• Backup Unlimited NAS devices
• Not compatible with Mac
• Pro plans start from $269.99/month for 250GB onwards

LiveDrive

Livedrive is a UK based setup with plenty of hosting experience, and the plans they advertise are pretty good too. Sign up, add your NAS to your account, then install the desktop software. Login with your details, and your data is ready to be backed up. Livedrive is almost like an all-in-one service when it comes to cloud storage, so it will meet all your needs if you are looking to settle down with just one provider.

Prices are very reasonable with respect to the services offered. Plans start from as low as $6 for backing up one computer with 2TB storage space. There are additional costs for syncing services. The Pro Suite offers unlimited backups for 5 computers with 5TB syncing storage for $19, and if you pair that with NAS support for an extra 8 bucks, I think you’ve got a pretty sweet offer there.

• Feature packed service
• Has a mobile app
• Compatible with Windows and Mac
• Pro Suite plan costs $19/month, includes 5 PC backup upto 5TB, and additional NAS support for $8

CrashPlan

Last but not least is CrashPlan, which is yet another unlimited storage service. This is the most advanced and feature filled one of the the list, even more so than LiveDrive. For 5 measly bucks a month, you can backup one computer with an unlimited amount of storage!

If you want more computers on the plan, then $12 gets you support for 2-10 devices and unlimited storage. There are yearly variations of these plans too. CrashPlan’s servers are typically fast, and among the ton of features provided, you get an option to limit the size of file uploads.

• Has a free service that allows data to be backed up to another computer
• Best deal for those owning 3-4 computers
• $12/month for unlimited storage for 2-10 devices, $5/month gives unlimited storage for one
• Most advanced and feature rich

Other notable mentions:

JungleDisk and ElephantDrive are much pricier options, aimed mainly at business’s. So their service, maintenance and support will be of a very high standard. They charge a several hundred dollars per month, which is very good deal if you’re a business. But it’s best to avoid them if you choose to be light on your pocket.