Microsoft SkyDrive users won't need to do anything during the transformation from SkyDrive to OneDrive - Microsoft has kindly offered to move their data for them.
Six months after striking a deal with British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), Rupert Murdoch's large broadband Internet and television provider, Microsoft announced OneDrive on Jan. 27.
In line with Microsoft's goals
Windows Services group lead Chris Jones said the new name is a better reflection of the company's vision: to make it easier for users to have all their favorite things in one place and accessible from every device.
Jones' statement echoed Microsoft's "One Microsoft" corporate reorganization strategy as well as its drumbeat that the firm's services are unique given that they serve a series of devices and work from anywhere, as explained by CEO Steve Ballmer last year.
OneDrive incentives
OneDrive keeps SkyDrive's 7GB of free storage, but removes incentives like the free 3GB for giving the photo backup feature a try and 5GB for referrals. The first 100,000 customers accessing OneDrive will receive 100GB of free space every year, however.
Monthly payment options have also been added, such as the $4.49 for an additional 50GB, versus the $25 annual fee for extra storage.
In comparison, iPhone-maker Apple offers only 5GB of free storage for iCloud, its online syncing service. Google has 15GB free with Google Drive, while the famous Dropbox file sync service offers just 2GB of free storage.
OneDrive for Business
Microsoft also renamed the corporate-grade online storage Office 365 SkyDrive Pro to OneDrive for Business. Beyond that, however, the company said it's holding off on revealing anything else about the product until the SharePoint Conference scheduled for the first week of March.