In almost any kind of business, data storage is critical to your success. Suffering from data breaches can lead to critical losses for your company. In many cases, small companies who suffer from data loss end up closing for business; you don’t want to be one of them.
You should always back up your data properly. In backing up your data, you have two main options: you can either store the data yourself using your own hardware, or you can store it on an external data server.
In this article, we’ll discuss onsite and offsite data storage so you can determine which one’s best for your business.
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Advantages of Onsite Data Storage
One of the biggest advantages of onsite data storage is that you’ll have quick and immediate access to any of the data you need. You won’t need to have a strong internet connection to access the data and won’t be locked out from the data you need in the event of an internet outage. If you’re backing up your data on a hard drive connected to your computer, you’ll have instantaneous access to information.
A Cheap Option
Another great reason to use onsite data storage is the fact that it’s so cheap. You can buy a reasonable amount of external hard drives for a small amount of money. Unless you’re storing insane amounts of data, you shouldn’t have any problems finding money in the budget to accommodate buying some hard drives.
Easy to Use
Another plus point is that hard drives are easy to install and operate. With modern computer systems, you most likely won’t even need to install any drivers. You can plug the hard drive in and the computer will recognize it and configure it; then, you’re good to go.
Make sure you consider buying USB3 hard drives if you have computers that can accommodate them, as these will allow for very fast transfer speeds.
Disadvantages of Onsite Data Storage
There are also a number of disadvantages to storing all of your data onsite. For example, there are security concerns surrounding the data.
You might spend a lot of cash on your cybersecurity, but you might not spend that much on physically securing your office. It’s quite easy for someone to steal a memory stick or a hard drive. If your drives contain any sensitive data, you might also have to step up your workplace security.
Physical Vulnerability
Another disadvantage is that you’ll be vulnerable to things happening in the physical world. Accidents can happen; someone might spill a drink on a hard drive, causing it to short circuit, or maybe your office will suffer from a fire.
In this kind of scenario, the disaster is twofold. Not only has your workplace been destroyed, but you also don’t have any of your data to get things going again.
Advantages of Offsite Data Storage
This also means that if a specific data center is suffering from network connectivity problems, you should still be able to access your data without any issues. When you store data on a physical drive, the drive could fail, causing you to lose all your data; with a data center, this is much less of a risk. The data storage center is also responsible for running any antivirus or firewall software to protect the data.
Good Security
Another advantage of offsite data management is security. If you’re physically storing your data on a hard drive, you’re responsible for making sure no one tries to steal it. On the other hand, if you’re using an external data center, most of the security concerns fall on the company you’re paying to store the data.
By using a trusted company such as Wolff Adar IT Solutions, you’ll have round-the-clock support.
Higher Capacity
You should also consider the data capacity. How much data do you actually want to store?
Some data centers will allow you to store unlimited data, which is a huge advantage if you’re a company that utilizes a lot of data. With physical storage, you’ll need to keep buying new drives every time you fill up the previous ones. This can quickly become difficult to manage.
Disadvantages of Offsite Data Storage
One issue with offsite data storage is the cost. In most cases, it’s going to cost a lot more to implement than buying your own storage. This is a disadvantage if you’re a company that doesn’t have much money to spend.
However, offsite data storage can sometimes save you money in the long run. Data loss can be expensive, and this is more likely to happen if you’re responsible for backing up your own data.
Internet Speeds
Internet speed and functionality are also big issues. If you have problems with your internet connection in the office, it could make it more difficult for you to reliably back up your files. If your internet connection goes down often, it could prevent you from backing up your files properly.
Uploading and downloading data can also get quite cumbersome if you’re on a slow connection. If this applies to you, it might be worth investigating if you can possibly get a faster and more reliable connection. If you can’t, you might want to stick with storage using physical media.
The Best of Both Worlds
In an ideal world, you’d have multiple backups available to you. If you truly want to secure your data, you should back it up once on your own personal hardware and again on an external server, utilizing both onsite and offsite data storage.
Many companies only start worrying about properly managing their data after they suffer from significant data loss. Don’t let this happen to you; always consider your data management strategy.
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