Cloud services are becoming increasingly important in the context of mobile. Many Internet users now conduct related tasks across desktop PCs, tablets, and smartphones, which is why the cloud's ability to sync files across devices is becoming so critical.
And the battle between several prominent cloud services companies is heating up. Box recently filed for a $250 million IPO. And Google and Microsoft both recently announced significant price drops for their services.
Data provided to us by mobile analytics platform Mobidia shows that for now, there isn't yet a clear-cut leader in terms of which mobile cloud services are proving the stickiest with users.
Mobidia's data looked at mobile usage among users of five prominent cloud services on Android in three developed mobile markets — the U.S., U.K., and South Korea — and found that there is a different leader in each market in terms of the time cloud users spent with an individual service. Moreover, the leader in each market doesn't have a terribly huge leg up.
- In the U.S., Google Drive saw the highest average weekly usage on mobile at roughly 4.67 minutes per user, followed by Box with just under 4 minutes.
- In the U.K., Box led the way with 4.2 minutes per week followed by Microsoft's OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive) with 3.75 minutes per week.
- In South Korea, Dropbox is used for 3.5 minutes per week on average, followed by Microsoft's OneDrive at about 3.2 minutes per week. Interestingly, Box and Google Drive see about one-quarter as much usage in South Korea as in the U.S. This suggests that users of these services in South Korea are not bothering to turn to them often.
While time spent by users of each mobile cloud service isn't a clear indicator of which service is winning the race to attract users, we think that average time spent does provide a good early indicator of which services are catching on. Those services that early adopters integrate into their mobile lives first are the ones most likely to reach a broader audience.
For now, no one service is winning out for time-spend, and this may be because each offers different features. For example, Box is geared toward the enterprise market, while Google Drive and Microsoft's OneDrive work with other Google or Microsoft services. These services appeal to users who would like to have all of their data and files synced seamlessly.
As app development progresses, it's likely more apps will add cloud syncing functionality, giving greater opportunity for one company to step in and take over. Although the race is seemingly wide open at this point, look for one or several of these companies to attempt to lock-down the mobile-cloud service space.
Click here to download the chart and data in Excel.
