If running your business involves working with lots of computer files, you should consider using the growing range of services that allow you to store these files online. Everything from spreadsheets, documents, e-mails and images can be stored on the Internet and the service is often offered for free.

Why Store Files online?

Here are some of the benefits for storing your files online:

• You can access your data from any computer connected to the Internet
• You are not restricted to any particular computer or location
• Storing files online can be used at as a safe backup facility
• If you wish, anyone can access your files
• Storing files in a central location online reduces the risk of having different versions of the same file on different computers

What Services allow you to store files online?

Below, you can read about five of the more popular options:

Mozy allows you to do a full computer backup and store a copy of your complete hard drive online with them. The backup option is pretty straightforward and they charge around $5 per month for the service.

AOL's Xdrive offer a free service that allows you to store 5 GB of data online. It also offers you the option of using an easy backup facility of up to 50GB for around $100 a year. This facility allows you to drag and drop files from your hard drive, USB etc into your own Xdrive account.

Windows Live SkyDrive offers 5GB free of password-protected storage, and is designed to be used as an extension to your computer-based storage. To access the service, you'll need to create a Live ID or use an existing Hotmail or Messenger ID. You can then create personal, shared or public folders and uploading files is pretty simple.

MediaFire are unusual in that they offer unlimited storage space for free. Another benefit of using MediaFire is that you can use it without registering. This works because the website will create a cookie on your computer, which means that you are limited to accessing your stored files from that computer only, and if you delete the cookie, you'll lose access to your files altogether. Because of this we would advise that you register for a free account. The upload system is a little more cumbersome than some of the other services mentioned in that each file must be individually selected. Uploaded files can be password protected and stored in multiple folders if required and you also have the option of making some folders public if preferred.

Box.net allows you to store 1GB for free but you can increase this to 5GB for around $10per month. Box.net is designed specifically for people looking to store files online and easily share them with family and work colleagues. Files can be uploaded individually or users can opt for the Java-based drag-and-drop feature that allows entire folders to be uploaded in a single action. Files can also be e-mailed directly to your Box.net account. You can also use the service to host photos and files used on blogs or services such as eBay. Simply upload the required files and then place the generated link on the appropriate page.