There are plenty of business owners out there who raise an eyebrow to cloud storage. Especially those of an older generation (no offense), who may tend to mistrust technology and opt for traditional solutions.
If you want total ownership and security of your prized data, arguably one of your most valuable assets, how can you reliably store it?
On-Site Storage Is Risky
How many PC tower fans does it take to irritate your entire office? But we’ll put them all into a special closet, the “data closet!” This scenario does not end well. There are so many shortcomings to on-site storage, besides the whirring fans, heat, and hefty electricity bill.
Natural disasters are one thing to consider. If a hurricane, tornado, or significant gust of wind during a storm takes your power out, or worse - physically takes out your expensive, on-site data solution, where do you turn?
Better to back up to the cloud! Or, consider various off-site data storage solutions.
Off-Site Storage is Better
The term “Off-Site Storage” gets used a lot with various meanings, let’s clear this up: it can refer to the cloud, but we’ll simply call that cloud storage, and we’ll cover hybrid later. So for our purposes let’s assume off-site is leveraging a managed service provider’s data center.
Why would you do this? Think about the savings in upfront costs and infrastructure. Not only will you not have to buy a dozen high-powered PC towers, cables, surge protectors, etc., but you’ll also save big on your utility bills and sq. footage overhead costs.
If you already have the souped up computers and a great backup system, outsource your data storage for big savings. The key is to find a reputable partner, which means you’ll get the utmost security and data privacy protection. If you’re in healthcare or finance, you’ll need to have special certifications included in your contract/lease of equipment and storage.
Hybrid Storage is Best
This is the way many savvy businesses' are going in the digital frontier. The mix of both offsite and onsite is a novel approach that allows you to host a portion of data in-office, but allow for remote backups with external cloud based storage. This is a double whammy for ultimate data integrity and security!
More Reasons to Store Off-Site
If you’re not afraid of a flood, earthquake, or tornado… congratulations for living in a wonderful location free of worry!
But seriously, there are so many things that could go wrong that insurance isn’t going to help with. We’re talking about your company’s precious data. If lightning strikes, or there is a fire, or even a burglary… you must be prepared.
This will get you thinking: a survey found that 60% of small businesses fail after a major loss of data. Don’t put your company, customers, and employees at risk. Offsite data storage offers protections to prevent your data ending up lost or in the wrong hands.
Here’s a few more reasons to consider off-site or a hybrid approach:
- Cost - with little to no setup costs, you’re making a thrifty choice without any compromise. Just pay for the space you use and nothing more.
- Dependable - a good offsite data facility will offer automatic backups and updates, making it easy to stay on top of the tumultuous tech world.
- Security - encryption is everything and if you don’t understand it completely, then storing your data with a partner who specializes in security standards will guarantee your data’s safe-keeping.
- Accessible - off site generally includes remote access options. Access your data from anywhere, anytime in the safest manner.
Off-site data storage and hybrid solutions work exceptionally well for manufacturers, healthcare, financial, retail and just about every industry. Don’t count on your on-site hard drives and resident geek’s ability to secure your empire of data. Leave it to the pros, and sleep comfortably knowing your data is in good hands.