This article continues our series exploring Windows 8 and SkyDrive. Read more here.

SkyDrive synchronises automatically with your Windows Phone, but perhaps you want to sync the data on your desktop…

SkyDrive  gives you access to free Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote in your browser, but also works well  with Office 2013.

To synchronise the data on your laptop with SkyDrive, you will need to download the SkyDrive Desktop application. Once installed, you can have a SkyDrive folder on your computer that  synchronises fully with your files and folders in the Cloud.

Like DropBox, SkyDrive can sync with your PC, Mac, phone and tablet.

Useful Links

• http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/skydrive/download

Brief Comparison with DropBox

On the face of it, the SkyDrive desktop app is very similar to the DropBox application, however there is one fundamental difference between SkyDrive and Dropbox that may make DropBox the right solution for your virtual office:  DropBox lends itself to role-based permissions and access, which is ideal for multi-user document repository as often required by small businesses.

However, Dropbox does not currently offer a client for the Windows Phone, and does not offer a free online version of Office.

This link shows a simplistic comparison between SkyDrive, DropBox, iCloud and Google:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/skydrive/compare

Note that the storage capacity on DropBox is easily increased through activity and referrals:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/275/en

Useful Links:

• DropBox Tour: https://www.dropbox.com/tour
• Register with DropBox: http://db.tt/45HmLJLF
  Thinly veiled attempt to get more free space for EKlär Solutions 😉 ! 

To learn more about Windows 8 and SkyDrive read this article: Windows 8: any good?

All methods are accurate at the time of writing for the configuration tested: Office 2010 on Windows 7; Chrome  v27; iPad 1; Nokia Lumia 710.