Physical Vs. Cloud Storage: Which Is Right for Your Business?
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 2:00 AM | 2 Comments
Technology and computing has made massive changes and bought great solutions to businesses over the recent years. The use of new age technology is fantastic for businesses, saving time, space, the cost of resources where processes are automated, and of course trees!
Technology has advanced to the point where there is much less need to worry now, even more so with the use of cloud networks and storage.
Gone are the days of filing cabinets and mountains of paper although not making it obsolete altogether as there is always the fear of your system going ‘down’ for unforeseen circumstances.
The biggest question a business faces when it comes to IT is which storage options are best. Opt for the virtual cloud storage or sick to the trusty physical hard copies?
Doing both is an option and is something that quite a few will have to consider. The cloud provides fast, easy access to the data you need on a day to day basis, or as and when. The physical copies mean work can go on regardless of any ‘technical’ issues that may occur or if data is deleted for some reason.
The majority of businesses do have to choose between the two though for expense purposes. The cloud comes with its own costs and the amount of storage you need increases, so does the amount you pay.
The same applies to hard copies really although in a physical sense! You will have to pay for the space that hard copies take up in an office. Both have pros and cons and deciding the best way to go for your business can be tricky…
Hard copies go missing. It happens, they just seem to disappear into thin air sometimes and end up in a faraway land never to be seen again. Then, there is the dependence on your employees having the common sense to file the copies in the right place in the first place; an all too common issues as most don’t tend to be thrilled about that part of the job!
An accident of some kind; a fire for example, could literally destroy everything in an instant. Electronic copies come with their own cons; system crashes can potentially cause files to be lost, files can be deleted accidentally, corrupted or even broken into by hackers making security of information a big concern.
Clouds though do tend to have a number of features like passwords, encryption and firewalls in an attempt to protect your data as much as possible. Hard copies can be secure too with surveillance and general building security methods in place.
You can even get alarm systems that call you directly under specified circumstances or a bit of peace of mind. You can get SIMs from a variety of vendors to keep your business and private lives separate though!
So, both options come with risks to make the decision that little bit more complicated! Both options come with costs and require space in some sense of the word. The best option for you depends on the sensitivity of the data you hold, the instant requirement to have the data and the security that you prefer.
If you already have a fantastic security system in your office building, then this may be the route for you. If you are operating a fast paces, customer facing business that requires data in an instant constantly, then the easier option would probably be the Cloud.
Letting go of the past and getting rid of that physical filing system can be a hard thing to do, but if this is the right thing for your circumstances then it must be done.
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure your business data and files are safe, secure, accessible and the most cost-effective solution to you.
Deciding on the best option for your business is not the easiest decision in the world to make, but at least there are options and ways to focus on your business security. All you need to do now is make the decision!
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2 Responses to “Physical Vs. Cloud Storage: Which Is Right for Your Business?”
By Jobs in Dubai UAE on Aug 16, 2012, 12:59 am | Reply
Nowadays technology and latest inventions directly affect on every business industry, we should be aware about them and should get benefits from them.
By Used computers on Aug 30, 2012, 5:13 am | Reply
We operate washing machines, microwave oven and many other products using software. Moreover we can store all the information about our important work, appointments schedules and list of contacts.
So we can say that today computer is playing very important role in our lives. Now is the time when we cannot imagine the world without computers. And this technology is advancing both in industry and home. It has become necessary for everyone to have the basic knowledge about computer. Otherwise he cannot get a job as computers have invaded almost all the fields.