Livedrive

Livedrive
Initial release December 2008
Development status Active
Operating system Microsoft Windows
Mac OS 10.6 and later
iOS
Android
Available in English
Type Online backup service, online file synchronization and storage service
Website www.livedrive.com

Livedrive is an online cloud backup and sync storage service owned by j2 Global. The company provides users with unlimited backup space and 2,000 GB or more of sync storage.[1] Livedrive enables users to access their data from mobile phones and tablets. Currently Livedrive has apps for iOS, Android, Windows, OS X and Chrome OS.

History

Livedrive was founded in late 2008 by Andrew Michael. Another investor in the company was Nicholas Cowell.[2]

In May 2009, three months after the product was launched, the business was offered a £100 million buy-out. The company turned down the offer stating they wanted to build the company.[1]

In October 2009 Livedrive entered into the US market place via a distribution agreement with Lifeboat Distribution - an international speciality software distribution for security, application lifecycle, and virtualization and network infrastructure products.[3]

In April 2011, Livedrive created an April fools video which falsely stated that the company was storing files on paper using QR codes. The story was picked up by several press sources as a true story including CBS's Money Watch.[4]

On February 10, 2014, Livedrive was purchased by j2 Global. Livedrive is part of j2's Business Cloud Services division, which includes eFax, eVoice, Fusemail, Campaigner, and KeepITsafe.[5]

After shutting down hundreds of user accounts for “excessive bandwidth/storage”, Livedrive was reported in August 2014 to be facing legal action from discontented customers.[6]

Media streaming

In September 2010, Livedrive added personal music and movie streaming to their accounts. This gave users the ability to listen to their own music collections or watch their movies on a remote computer, with transcoding handled by Livedrive. The company also gave users FTP access and unlimited versioning.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Credit crunch, what credit crunch? Website whizzkid, 29, turns down £100m for firm he set up three months ago". The Daily Mail. May 5, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Nicholas Cowell: Brother who's also got the X Factor". The Independent. January 21, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Livedrive Partners With Lifeboat Distribution to Bring". Bloomberg. October 27, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Livedrive's New Online Storage Secret: Paper Printouts". CBS. April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ "j2 Global Acquires LiveDrive; j2's Online Backup Annualized Monthly Run-Rate Exceeds $40M". The New York Times. February 10, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ Charles Arthur: Livedrive facing legal action after closing cloud backup accounts, The Guardian 27.8.2014.
  7. ↑ "Livedrive adds media streaming". The Register. September 23, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
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