M. Stulov / Vedomosti

Yandex is developing a service with the working title Yandex.Disk, a source close to the company said. This service will allow you to store files of any format, and they will be accessible from any device connected to the Internet - a computer, smartphone, etc. - through special applications. On Yandex.Disk, you can not only store data, but also fully synchronize information recorded on different devices - contacts, documents, correspondence, events, photos, videos.

Such a project is being prepared, confirmed Yandex representative Ochir Mandzhikov. Currently, most people store important information on one device, and if it breaks or gets lost, problems arise, he explains; Yandex wants to offer users a simple and convenient tool for storing personal information.

Each user will be allocated 10 GB. This is not about a file sharing service like Rapidshare: it will only be possible to share files with a limited number of people, a source at Yandex emphasizes. The company is currently thinking about how to limit the number of downloads of one file.

In the last couple of years, several cloud services for data storage have appeared at once. The most famous are Amazon Cloud Drive, iCloud from Apple, Dropbox; Microsoft and Google have similar projects. The model that Yandex is focusing on is iCloud, says a source at Yandex. With the help of iCloud, users of iPhone, iPad and other Apple devices store information from these gadgets online. Apple provides the basic 5 GB of disk space for free, and beyond that - for money: $20-100 per year for 10-50 GB.

Yandex will allow increasing disk space, but will not charge for it, a source at Yandex promises. The goal of the project is to attract users, and Yandex makes money on advertising. In addition, unlike iCloud, the service will not be tied to one equipment manufacturer, adds the source of Vedomosti. However, there may be a problem with Apple devices: this company does not allow downloading user information from its devices to third-party services. “For now, we will synchronize what we can – calendars and contacts,” says the source at Yandex.

Popular file storage services already operate in Russia – Dropbox, Files.Mail.ru, Ifolder, reminds Konstantin Anisimov, Marketing Director of Parallels in Russia, the Middle East and Africa. In such a competitive situation, focusing on the iCloud model is a good way to close the users, as Apple did. Obviously, Yandex will monetize this service according to its standard business model: through built-in search tools and contextual advertising, Anisimov expects.

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