Where should I put all my files? Cloud vs. Local storage

                 Where to store your files is becoming one of the biggest questions facing the tech industry today.  Should we as a company ‘go to the cloud’ or keep our files locally?    Why should we as a company spend the money on file storage infrastructure when we can pay a service to do it for us? While both solutions have their advantages, they both have some nasty disadvantages as well.  In this post, we will discuss those advantages and disadvantages and what they could mean for your company.

What is the Cloud?  A quick Google search shows (after 4 Google Ads at the top of the page) a result from PCMag.com which states:

“…cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive. The cloud is just a metaphor for the Internet.” (“What is Cloud Computing” PCMag.com, May 3, 2016)

And while this gives a pretty good explanation of what the Cloud is, it can be summed up a bit simpler: 

…the Cloud is just someone else’s computer

That’s about it.  In all reality, the cloud is just a service provided by a company in which you (as an individual or a company) can store your documents over the internet on that providers’ computer.  You can then access your files wherever you are (granted you have an internet connection) without having to store them on the hard drive of the computer you are currently using OR spending the time and money building the infrastructure to store them ‘in-house’. Not only that, but with most cloud storage services, backups of all documents in each account is standard practice.

While the cloud can prove to be very convenient, both in cost and backup services, a business owner must also think about the security of those files in the cloud.  With the almost weekly news of large companies and corporations getting hacked or having sensitive material leak onto the internet, it is only a matter of time for this to happen to these cloud storage providers.  Once the account information and/or the files themselves are stolen, your potentially sensitive material can be exposed to the internet at large. Most importantly, you as a company must be sure to comply with any rules and regulations that may apply to the information in your files (HIPAA, FDIC, etc.).

On the other hand, storing your files ‘in-house’ means you as the business are in charge of your files and information and can better control who has access to your information.  The obvious drawback to this is the equipment and labor cost associated with storing files yourself.  Depending on how big your company is, this could mean a single server or Network Attached Storage device with your IT support person monitoring it, to a large scale server room with a team of IT pros installing, monitoring, upgrading all hardware and software, and watching the network for intruders.  With the higher degree of security and control of your information, the higher the cost will be to your business in order to maintain it.

Both sides have their pros and cons.  What you and your company must understand is that with greater convenience and potential lower cost comes the possibility of ‘someone else’s computer’ getting broken into and your information becoming compromised.  Be sure to read XLNsystems’ Small Business Tech Tips for more articles in the coming weeks, and check out our cyber security blog HERE.

XLNsystems is an IT Security and Custom Software company located in Columbus, Ohio

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

XLN Systems' response to COVID-19

XLN Systems' response to COVID-19 2020 has been one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory for the economy, and for companies who are trying to survive in this economy. From political upheaval and racial tension, to a devastating virus that shut down the world for nearly 3 months, we have been faced with new challenges previously unheard of in the business world. But that doesn’t mean that the world stops turning, or that businesses stop doing business. What it does mean is that businesses must change some of the ways of doing business to account for the dramatic changes that we have faced since the onset of Covid-19. XLN Systems is no different, and we are committed to doing business efficiently, safely, and in accordance with CDC and Federal guidelines for business operation.  One of the ways that we are confronting this new normal is by working remotely as much as possible. From very early on in the Pandemic, XLN Systems relied heavily on remote working as a means to...
Read more

Back to Work: Navigating the Turbulent Waters of the Covid-19 Pandemic!

Over these past few months, American’s have been asked to change the way we do business in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Working from home has become common for those who are lucky enough to be considered “non-essential” but still have a job. As a result, technology has taken on an even greater level of importance as home offices became virtual meeting places.  What would have been impossible 20 years ago is made easier now because of the monumental advances in technology that have created remote links to keep us connected ( https://www.bluefountainmedia.com/blog/impact-covid-19-future-technology ). Zoom and Skype have seen a significant uptick and usage, as have tools like Google Docs, Dropbox, and other cloud-based repositories of digital data. The world is smaller thanks to technology, and we are now better prepared for a virtual / remote workplace than at any time in the history of humanity! During the pandemic, companies have had to adjust their business models in a...
Read more

Hard Drive Life Expectancy and How It Impacts You

One of the things that most small business owners do not think about when it comes to the PCs in their office is the hard drive inside each of their computers. The common thought is akin to that of the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so as long as the computers work and employees are able to perform their duties then there is no reason to spend time thinking about the health of the computers in the office. Unfortunately there is no visible wear indicator on a hard drive unless you get a warning from your operating system that a failure has occurred. If there is any indication that the drive is starting to go bad, it might be hard to notice if it is just adding to other compounding issues. Hard drives are one of very few items in the computer is a wear item. Solid state drives are more resilient than traditional spinning disk drives. Gaining in popularity, but due to their cost vs. storage space metric, solid state drives are not taking the lead in media storage in prebuilt desktops...
Read more