Small businesses now produce more data than ever before, and it all needs to be stored. For many small businesses, simply filling the office drawers with flash drives might seem tempting, but it’s actually much easier and simpler to have a proper data storage strategy. That way you avoid the disorganization and fragmentation that comes with doing everything on the fly.
As data becomes more important to SMBs, the price of storing it drops. This is partly because we’re getting better at making memory. There was a time when a 15GB hard drive cost hundreds of dollars. Today, flash and hard drive memory can be extremely affordable. At the same time, cloud providers can offer you storage at rates that won’t sting your bottom line. Google will give you that much cloud storage for the low, low price of free.
But what data strategy is right for you?
1: Direct Attached Storage
This is storage that attaches right to your PC, usually via USB. Anything that you plug right in – external hard drive, flash drive – fits the bill.
DAS is easy to implement and doesn’t require much upfront investment. You can unattach the storage at any time, increasing security.
However, you have to remember to back up data yourself. Furthermore, anything you have tangible in the office can be physically broken, stolen, lost or damaged. That being said, you run the risk of piecemeal implementation with lots of duplicated files unless you’re very, very disciplined.
2: Network Attached Storage
NAS attaches directly to the network rather than to a PC. You can expect file server capabilities and multiple storage drives: it’s the next step up from DAS in complexity and functionality.
NAS usually supports a range of file types and RAID capabilities, and some NAS systems offer remote synchronization – synching your files with another NAS that’s kept in another location – which helps with disaster recovery.
But, NAS does have drawbacks. Most NAS systems run on Linux and don’t cope well with power outages. Additionally, files can usually only be accessed through your network’s operating system.
3: Disaster Protected Storage
DPS sounds good – and it is good. DPS is the AK-47 of data storage: one major supplier, ioSafe, says its storage can survive fire and immersion in water (no word on its proofing against earth and wind).
However, you’ll pay extra – and your data is still physically present, so it remains vulnerable.
4: Online Storage
Online storage in the cloud means your data is stored on servers belonging to your cloud provider, often in a virtualized environment and usually in conditions of physical safety that almost no-one else could match. One major cloud provider, iDrive, boasts of military-grade encryption and earthquake-proof, constantly surveilled racks.
Cloud storage can work very well when you’re backing up data incrementally, and there’s no upfront investment. There’s also no physical storage substrate in your possession to be lost or damaged – the two biggest causes of data disasters!
But, data retrieval can take a long time if you need full data recovery, and your data might not be vulnerable in the racks – but it’s still only as strong as the weakest link in your network; a hacked router could compromise you.
5: Private Cloud
Private cloud is a great solution for sensitive or mission critical data. You get the ease of use of cloud with the control of running your own data center.
However, you’ll be paying to support that data center. And even with full virtualization and compression, you’ll still face some difficulties keeping up with your storage needs.
The best answer…
For most people the best answer is to use a mixture of two of the above solutions, along with a third, emergency backup for mission-critical data that you’ll be in real trouble without. Speaking of reels, it doesn’t have to be stored on the cloud; Google does it with tapes (yes, it’s true) and Facebook does it with Blu-Ray discs!
We have assisted numerous companies in various industries with finding the right IT solutions for their needs. To let us do the same for you, call us today at (877) 950-1999, or fill out our contact form.
