Comparison of several tools for data synchronization 2024

Organizations deal with an unprecedented amount of data today. Technological advancements and digitalization have increased the role of data in business activities and decision-making. However, the data is often located in several locations, which need to be sorted and synchronized for effective use. That's why data synchronization is crucial to ensure data is unified and consistent everywhere. Therefore, this guide will discuss data synchronization, its types, importance, and the best data sync software in detail. So, let's head right to it!

Part 1. What is Data Synchronization and Database Synchronization?

Data synchronization, or data sync, is a recurring process of synchronizing data across multiple locations simultaneously. It ensures data consistency across different sources, devices, and applications so that everyone has access to the same and fresh data. It can occur in real-time or via scheduled intervals, depending on the organization's data needs.

Database synchronization, or database sync, is also a recurring process of syncing data between two or multiple databases back and forth automatically to ensure data consistency. For instance, suppose a business has multiple branches in different locations, and each branch has a unique database of customers. So, database synchronization can help to perform data sync from all databases of branches to the central database.

Part 2. Types of Data Synchronization

There are two main types of data synchronization, as follows:

1.      Unidirectional (One-way) Sync

Unidirectional, or one-way data sync, is a data transfer in a single direction only. In this type of data synchronization, the changes made in the source system are copied/replicated to the target system, while the changes in the target system do not impact the source system.

This type of data synchronization is commonly used to create a source data backup to the cloud or another location. Similarly, it can be used for data migration or data analysis.

2.      Bidirectional (Two-way) Sync

Bidirectional, or two-way data sync, is data transfer in both directions. In this type of data synchronization, the data is exchanged and updated in both source and target systems. Whether changes are made in the source or target system, they are synced between both.

This type of data synchronization is commonly used where multiple employees/teams need access to the same up-to-date data, such as consistent customer data between sales and marketing teams.

Part 3. Reasons/Challenges for the Need for Data Synchronization

Data synchronization is not a choice but a mandatory process for businesses today. The below points reflect what reasons/challenges urge the need for data synchronization:

·         Data Silos: Data silos are isolated data that is accessible to one department only. It can lead to poor data quality, inconsistency, inefficiency, or lack of transparency.

·         Duplicate/Conflicting Data: If data is not synced, it can lead to duplicate or conflicting data. This leads to data entry and integration challenges when used across systems.

·         Low-Quality/Outdated Data: Inconsistent data between systems and departments compromises the data quality and authenticity. In fact, poor data quality costs an average of $12.9 million to organizations annually.

·         Insecure Data: Lack of data synchronization makes data insecure.  For instance, when there is no backed-up data, the data loss will be unrecoverable.

·         Complicated Data Management: Different departments may have different formats and structures of data, which makes it challenging to manage, integrate, and analyze the data across the organization.

·         Inaccurate Decision-Making: Lack of centralized and up-to-date data compromises the data-based decision-making process.

·         Collaboration and Communication Issues: Lack of unified access to data leads to collaboration and communication challenges across teams.

Data synchronization can eradicate all the above challenges by providing unified and consistent data accessibility for every department within an organization. It ensures data is accessible, up-to-date, and ready to be utilized by any individual or team.

Part 4. Tools for Addressing Data Synchronization Needs

Looking at the importance of data synchronization, there are now many data synchronization tools available for businesses. Therefore, we have shortlisted four best and easiest data synchronization techniques/tools:

Method 1. Dropbox

Dropbox is a popular cloud-based service that allows individuals and businesses to store, sync, and share data across different platforms and devices. Talking specifically about data sync with Dropbox, it allows you to upload files and folders from one device and access them across all other devices logged in with the same Dropbox account.

For instance, if the sales team uploads the sales report of the month to Dropbox, the rest of the teams can access the report from their devices. This way, teams can create central folders in Dropbox and perform data sync easily and effectively.

Method 2. Google Drive

Google Drive is another popular cloud service and an excellent data sync software. It allows organizations to create central drive folders where all the data and files can be synced. Afterward, authorized users can access the folder from the web, desktop, smartphones, or tablets.

With Google Drive, employees can sync data, files, and folders easily and provide specific access, such as viewer, commenter, or editor. This way, Google Drive is another excellent data synchronization to fulfill data sync needs effectively.

Method 3. OneDrive

OneDrive is the cloud service offered by Microsoft that works similarly to Google Drive and Dropbox. It allows users to sync specific folders/files from the computer, smartphone, or tablet. In fact, it creates a folder on the computer that syncs with the cloud, so users can easily sync files to and from the cloud.

OneDrive allows organizations to create a unified data channel through which data can be easily synced and accessed across departments. It also integrates with Microsoft Office applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others, to sync files in real time.

Method 4. Raysync

Last in our list of database synchronization tools, and the most powerful one is Raysync. It is a software-based large file transfer and synchronization solution provider that provides high-speed large data transfers and auto-sync capabilities. With Raysync, organizations get automatic, fast, and secure data synchronization with no restriction on the quantity or size of files.

Raysync supports multiple modes of data sync, i.e., one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. It can sync data across various platforms, such as Windows, Linux, MacOS, cloud storage, NAS, local storage, etc.

Think of it as an intermediary between the source and target system, which assists in autonomous and super-fast data syncing no matter the file size and quantity. In short, Raysync is the most advanced and ideal data synchronization software for organizations.

Part 5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Data Synchronization Tools

All the data synchronization tools discussed above can fulfill organizations' data synchronization needs. So, the next question is which one to pick out of the above database sync tools. For that, let's shed light on their key advantages and disadvantages:

Pros & Cons of Dropbox

Pros

·         Easy to use

·         Sync files and folders

·         Compatible with web, computer, smartphone, and tablet

·         Offline functionality

Cons

·         Slow sync speed depending on file size

·         Security breach incidents in the past

Pros & Cons of Google Drive

Pros

·         Easy-to-use

·         Access-based sharing

·         Sync files and folders

·         Compatible with web, computer, smartphone, and tablet

Cons

·         Slow to sync large files

·         750 GB per day upload limit

·         File size limits

Pros & Cons of OneDrive

Pros

·         Easy to sync desktop files and folders

·         Integrated with Microsoft Office apps

·         Compatible with web, computer, smartphone, and tablet

·         Two-factor authentication and file encryption

Cons

·         Slow to sync large files

·         Sync limit of 300,000 files for optimum performance

·         Limits for size (250GB) and number of files uploaded/downloaded

Pros & Cons of Raysync

Pros

·         Intelligent autonomous and super-fast data syncing (10Gbps transfer speeds)

·         Real-time sync of data in any network condition and distance

·         Scheduled data syncing

·         Sync millions of small files

·         Intelligently identify and skip the same files

·         One-way/two-way sync

·         Multiple modes of data sync

·         Various supported platforms for syncing: Windows, Linux, MacOS, cloud storage, NAS, local storage, SMB, etc.

Cons

·         Enterprise only, no individual user plan

Conclusion

Most of the organization processes revolve around data today. Therefore, data synchronization has become an integral part of organizations. As evident from this guide, data sync practices empower organizations to have unified, consistent, up-to-date, and reliable data for teams.

That's why the guide will wrap up by recommending organizations to enforce data synchronization policies. And one of the best tools to do so is Raysync. It serves as an all-in-one tool to ensure fast and automatic data sync in one-way or two-way as per specified schedules. Therefore, try our Raysync and begin optimizing data synchronization practices right away.