Connected Data Offering Private Cloud Storage in Europe

Connected Data, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up with more than $6 million in venture funding and founded by a British serial entrepreneur, has launched Transporter, a private data sharing and storage device, into Europe.

Priced at under £200, and with no recurring monthly fees, Transporter offers an alternative to public cloud storage services for consumers and small businesses needing to sync, share, access, and protect their data.

With many popular public cloud services like Dropbox and Instagram experiencing highly-publicised data breaches, security and privacy for file sharing and storage has never been more important for consumers. To address this issue, Transporter sets a private alternative to public cloud offerings. All data is stored only on authorized devices to ensure privacy, but also provides users with global access and unlimited sharing.
 
"With the rise of mobile computing, consumers need robust technology solutions that enable them to share and access files on the go," said Dave Reinsel, group VP at IDC. "Connected Data’s approach is very unique in that it provides a completely private, peer-to-peer solution that only hosts data on authorized devices. With thousands of Transporter units sold in the first few months of production, Connected Data is clearly on the right path."
 
Transporter delivers all the benefits of the cloud – namely syncing, sharing, access, and protecting data – while addressing three key shortcomings with public cloud services:

• Privacy – Unlike public clouds where data is stored on third-party servers, it only stores data on authorized devices and never stores data in the cloud. Shared files are encrypted and transferred directly between authorized devices in a peer-to-peer fashion.
• No Monthly Fees – Monthly cloud storage fees add up quickly for users with more than a few gigabytes of data. Transporter is a one-time purchase with no recurring costs so users can share and access terabytes of data cost effectively.
• Unified Service – Cloud services are geared towards solving either syncing, sharing, or backup, but not all three. For example, Dropbox is designed for simple syncing, but is too expensive for backing up large media files. Similarly, Carbonite is designed for backup and not for sharing. Transporter eliminates the need to use multiple cloud services to share and protect large collections of files.

Version 1.0 of the Transporter was initially released in the US in early 2013. The European launch coincides with the release of version 2.0 that delivers four enhancements:

• Simplified interface – Version 2.0 provides drag-and-drop support, right-click functionality and the ability to share links to files with others.
• Flexible sync options for limited capacity devices – Most cloud storage providers offer ‘all or nothing’ syncing where everything is either synced across all devices or not accessible. With Transporter v2.0, users can sync and share critical folders (e.g. work documents) while still having the ability to access and share large folders (e.g. music, photo or movie collections) stored on Transporter from any device.
• New iOS and Android mobile apps – It also introduces new iOS and Android mobile applications allowing users to remotely access, upload, download and share files stored on Transporter directly from their iOS or Android device.
• Remote access and connection enhancements – It has enhanced connection technology to ensure that users will be able to connect to and access their Transporter files regardless of the firewall security that may be in place.

"We experienced an amazing amount of international demand for Transporter when we launched our Kickstarter campaign back in December 2012," said Geoff Barrall, CEO of Connected Data. "Our expansion into Europe is a significant milestone for Connected Data and we’re excited to introduce Transporter with the Version 2.0 enhancements."

Transporter can be used as a standalone private cloud or shared with other Transporter devices. This ability of Transporter devices to communicate and share with each other regardless of location enables consumers and businesses to create a network of shared files with friends, family, co-workers, and colleagues.
 
Transporter v2.0 will be a free software upgrade for all existing customers. For new customers, it starts at a suggested retail price of £179 without a HDD, £249 for 1TB and £325 for 2TB. Transporter v2.0 will be available in June 2013 from a national network of partners including Dabs, Expansys plc and Transparent Communications Ltd.