Is the Cloud Right for Your Business?
The answer really depends on your needs. The cloud is a fast, affordable and convenient data storage model that is accessible to you anywhere you have an internet connection. No more worrying about leaving the office unprepared! You can also share documents with others quickly and easily.
Working on the cloud is cost-effective—it can often be free for those who don’t need more than a certain amount of space—and it’s scalable. Pay for the amount of storage space you need now, and when you need more, upgrade to that amount rather than trying to guess what you’ll need with each new hard drive purchase. Your data is automatically backed-up, so there’s no fear of losing anything through hardware failure.
And maintenance is even easier. All updates are made on the server’s side, so you never have to worry about having an outdated system. Add to that the ease of access on different platforms and devices, and the cloud seems like the obvious choice for many businesses.
But after the recent incident of stolen celebrity photos, you may have some concerns about security. While it may be possible to access a consumer-level cloud like Apple’s using hacking or other illegal methods, the highly secure AES-128 bit keys for encryption of transmission and storage of data we use for our business-level cloud is far less vulnerable. Our data centres are completely safe and secure!
What about Hard Disk Drives?
Of course, the hard disk drive-based model (HDD) has been tried and true for years, and is certainly a viable option for businesses big and small. HDD can be faster than internet-based storage since you’re connecting via hard-line to your network rather than relying on bandwidth. If you’ve been in business for a while, you no doubt already have the infrastructure in place, so it may be easier and more convenient to continue on the same path. And if your network is internal and not accessible by any outside parties, the possibility of security breach is very low.
However, as we’ve seen over the years, HDDs are subject to failure. Hard drives do stop working because of mechanical failure—especially if they’re not maintained and upgraded regularly. A physical storage device can be damaged like any piece of equipment. Flood, fire, human mistakes can all render a drive unusable in seconds necessitating the use of a data recovery service. And, of course, the simple bulk of having racks of hard drives on site can make relocation or upscaling difficult.
The cloud and HDD are workable solutions for most businesses, and we can help you decide which is best for you! We have more than a decade of experience assisting businesses like yours find the right data management solution. If you would like more information on our cloud services and how we can help your business succeed, contact us on 1300 853 453.
