Livedrive Company Information and Review

Livedrive was launched in December 2008 after two years of development. It was founded by Andrew Michael in the UK. He founded Fasthosts, a large hosting company in the UK and he sold it in 2006 for $120 million. He and his team have been working on the vision of Livedrive since then.

Livedrive is available in two plans; The Standard plan provides 100GB of space while the Pro is unlimited. The real bonus is while you can only use it on one computer in the Standard plan; you can install it on unlimited computers in the Pro plan. Using the Pro plan with unlimited space and unlimited computers means that you can take advantage of the file synchronization across all of your computers so that your local files would match those on Livedrive. Additionally, the Pro plan provides priority upload speed priority over Standard plan to the Livedrive servers. Each plan also comes with FTP access to your files and Facebook integration. Livedrive added a backup capability to their product in August 2009, so not only do they have online file backup, they also have online archive of all your files.

Great service if you want to store all of your data on the Internet and access it from almost anywhere using a web browser, phone or FTP. You can also edit Office files and Open Office files and image files using only a web-browser. File sharing is available for public and private sharing of files. An online media player supports videos, photos and music online.

Information obtained from the company website, Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, May 2009. Updated in September 2009 with online backup information added.

Website: livedrive.com

Contact: questions@livedrive.com

Company: Livedrive Internet Ltd.

Location: Westminster London UK

Operating since: 2006

Summary: Livedrive provides online file storage, online file editing and online file sharing and editing. Basic plan works on one computer, but unlimited plan works on as many computers as you use and automatically synchronizes data across them. File versioning is also retained so you can “go back” and get a previous version of a file.

Details: Designed with the mindset that Livedrive becomes your local hard drive, but instead of using your local drive to use files, you use Livedrive.

Free Livedrive account available: No

Paid Livedrive account available: Yes, includes 100GB on one computer for $55.95 USD/Yr. or Unlimited space, on as many computers as you use (for file synchronization) for $129.95 USD/Year.

Single file size limit: Unknown

Free Trial: No, but they do have a 30 day money back guarantee if you don’t like what you see or if it doesn’t work for you.

Platforms supported: Web browser based service, Windows based operating systems support.

Livedrive client software download required for use: No, but synchronization operations do require it.

Online File Backup Details

Designed for easy online file backups: Yes.

Completely automatic backups: Yes, for directories tagged for use with Livedrive.

User defined backups: Very nice and simple - just tell Livedrive what directories you want to make sure are backed up and it does the rest.

User defined bandwidth option for backups and restore process: Unknown

Can data be sent to Livedrive to seed the initial backup: No

Support for backup of attached USB drives: Yes

Support for open and locked files: Unknown

Tracking and storage of multiple versions of files: Yes

Can multiple PCs files be backed up using one backup account: Yes, unlimited account.

Can servers be backed up: Not Applicable

Designed for easy online file restore: Yes

Designed that data be restored via web browser: Yes

Designed so that data be sent to you on DVD, Hard Drive or other device: No

Online File Storage Details

Designed for easy data storage: Yes

File transfer: Using web browser or Livedrive client application.

Online File Access Details

Online access to files from anywhere: Yes

Search capability to help you locate specific files: Unknown

Online File Sharing Details

Designed for easy file sharing: Yes

Designed for easy music sharing: Yes

Designed for easy photo sharing: Yes

Designed for easy video sharing: Yes

Online Team Collaboration Details

Online team collaboration features beyond file sharing / folder sharing: Yes, enhanced permissions with business version.

Online & Offline File Synchronization Details

Online file sync across multiple computers or devices: Yes, with the Pro plan.

Offline file sync across multiple computers or devices: Yes, with the Pro plan, not limited.

Web 2.0 Support Details

Support for integration with online editing of text data files: Yes

Support for integration with online editing of multiple document types: Yes, MS Office and Openoffice files and images.

Support for integration with online communities such as Facebook, MySpace and others: Yes, and can easily drag applications and photos to Facebook.

Security & Encryption Details

Encryption for sign up and login: Yes (SSL)

File transfer processes encrypted: Yes

Files encrypted on local computer as part of Livedrive service: No

Files encrypted on Livedrive systems: No

Encryption type for storage: None

Encryption key management for storage: None

Datacenter Information

Datacenter/s location disclosed: No

Datacenter/s facilities described: No

Datacenter/s telecommunication capability described: No

Datacenter/s security levels described: No

Customer Service & Support

Site Searchable: No

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and other “Self-Help” available: Yes

How Do You Request Assistance: e-mail

Live Support Chat Available: Not Disclosed

E-Mail Support: Yes

Remote Control Support Available: Not Disclosed

Telephone Based Support: Not Disclosed

Customer Feedback E-mail or Form Available: Yes, with e-mail.

Better Business Bureau Record Summary: No matches as of May 30 2009 (Company is not USA based)

Federal Trade Commission Summary: No matches as of May 30 2009 (Company is not USA based)