Doing business in the 21st century has given rise to a new set of challenges and one aspect where this is most evident is data loss. With an increasing level of integration into modern hardware and software for storing information, issues such as hardware failure, security breaches, and user error can result in a significant loss of important company data.
This emphasizes the importance of ensuring that our data is stored safely and securely. These days, businesses have a variety of options to choose from. Cloud storage is becoming increasingly popular and has quickly taken over physical servers in popularity. This begs the question, is there still a need for physical backups in business today?
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Security
While some businesses maintain the opinion that backing up data on their own servers is more secure than using a cloud service, physical backups do come with their own security concerns. Hard drives can be tampered with, stolen, damaged or lost if the correct measures are not taken to secure them.
Cloud storage providers capitalize on this vulnerability by ensuring that their storage solutions offer the very best in encryption. Putting your data into the hands of another company may seem like a risky move, but their reputation is on the line and they have to take whatever measures they can to maintain it.
Convenience
Cloud storage solutions are only as fast as the internet connection of your business. If the infrastructure in your area doesn’t facilitate constant transferring of large files over internet-connected services, then physical storage may be a better option.
There’s also the fact that some employees whose workplaces have a BYOD policy may be using outdated hardware that isn’t capable of accessing the internet at high speeds. This is where flash drives reign supreme for business use. With the right supplier, you can even USD drives in bulk, making for a highly affordable way to transfer and store data.
Cost
When it comes to the cost of physical storage versus cloud storage, it largely depends on the size of your business. Small businesses with few employees won’t need to rent out expensive servers or buy high quantities of hard drives. This is where physical storage may be a better option.
However, with larger businesses, having a centralized, online form of storage means less initial capital expenditure going towards buying a large number of hard drives. Paying a monthly fee for an online backup solution results in a more stable ongoing cost than having to buy physical drives whenever more are needed.
Scalability
Hard drives have limited scalability. Once they run out of storage, old data either needs to be deleted or transferred. In this situation, you’ll end up having to buy more drives as your business grows. However, with cloud storage, you can simply purchase a higher tier storage option and continue backing up your data.
Since the cloud storage service is handling the facilitation of more storage space, there’s little extra in terms of admin and licensing that you’d otherwise have to do when renting out a physical server. With hard drives, you’ll be buying, securing, and maintaining more physical equipment.
Determining the Best Storage Solution
You’ll naturally have to account for the amount of data you currently have, but you’ll also have to consider the growth of your business. Companies increase the amount of data they hold by 40% per year on average.
Cloud storage is easier to scale and still provides superior security over physical storage. That said, there is still a place for physical storage solutions in businesses, especially with SMBs.
Conclusion
Even in today’s environment, there is clearly still a need for physical storage. However, it’s worth considering the benefits of cloud storage for the sake of future proofing your company.
