As the business world becomes increasingly digitized, your company’s choice of storage solution is more important than ever. And regardless of whether your company has one employee or one hundred, storage will play a huge role in the day-to-day functioning of your business. But, with so many options out there, it can be difficult to determine what type of storage is right for you. Are you a business owner that’s wondering what your data storage options are? If so, you’re in luck—keep reading to find out more about today’s most popular storage solutions.
The Importance of Storage
Before we get into the different kinds of storage, let’s take a look at why storage is so important in the first place. When you think of company assets, data might not be what comes to mind immediately—but make no mistake: your files are absolutely an asset that your business couldn’t do without. From records of transactions and inventories to leads and customer information, your company has a wide variety of data that you need to store, protect, and be able to retrieve.
Storage is important for a number of reasons, the first being that you need to have somewhere to keep all of your documents, files, and other forms of company data. Another reason that storage is a valuable component of any business is the type of storage you have determines how you can protect that data—not only from external breaches in your network security but internal threats, too. Lastly, organization and retrieval are factors that can make storage a make-or-break business decision: After all, inefficient data retrieval equals more downtime and, potentially, lower profits.
Leading Modern-Day Storage Solutions
Perhaps the most-talked-about storage solution in business today is the cloud. Yet, cloud storage is only one of many options that you have in terms of data storage for your company. That being said, while there’s a long list of storage solutions out there, we’re going to be focusing on the most popular—and, yes, that includes the cloud.
Hard Disk Drive
We might live in a world where “new” is thought to be synonymous with “better,” and even though the tech industry progresses at a sometimes astonishingly fast rate, there are some forms of technology that have displayed unusual endurance—and hard disk drives (HDD) are one of them. While there’s no denying that HDD has been falling out of fashion in recent years, it’s still a storage solution that many businesses continue to utilize. Basically, HDD operates via rotating magnetic disks that connect to a system using a standard interface cable.
HDD offers some impressive capability when it comes to how much data you can store on it, but it’s also pretty bulky, and not everyone has the space to keep an HDD system.
The Cloud
Definitely one of the newest forms of storage, the cloud is on the rise, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere any time soon. Cloud storage functions by way of an intricate virtual infrastructure, and it’s managed by a third-party provider. Though the cloud certainly has its perks when it comes to sharing and accessibility, there are some major drawbacks that come with it, mostly having to do with security.
Some of the top cloud storage providers are Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box.
Flash
Flash storage might not be as hyped-up as the cloud, but it’s still a smart storage solution that more and more business owners are considering. Because it uses nonvolatile, floating-gate memory, flash offers users a high amount of control over their storage without the added complexity of physical moving parts, like HDDs.
Not everyone is familiar with flash as a storage solution—but it’s the same concept that’s found in a flash drive, which uses a portable form of the technology.
Hybrid
Because every individual storage solution comes with its own pros and cons, many business owners are opting to use a combination of storage types in order to maximize their storage capacity. Hybrid storage offers optimal performance by combining speed with cost-effectiveness and control.
Not Sure? Talk to an IT Consultant!
Technology can be confusing—not to mention overwhelming. Luckily, if you’re feeling a little lost, you don’t have to figure out your storage solution all by yourself. Hiring an IT consultant is one of the best ways to ensure that you find the right storage solution for your business, whether that means HDD, the cloud, flash, or some kind of storage hybrid. A few factors to consider when looking at storage solutions are security, control, available space, and, of course, price. And as your business continues to grow, your storage needs will continue to change, so there’s no “one-size-fits-all” in terms of storage solution—which is another reason why talking to an IT consultant might be a good idea.
