Growing their company is typically the main focus of many business owners, and one tool that has greatly facilitated them in recent years is cloud data storage. It provides companies with lower operating costs, more agility, and more productive and efficient work.
Cloud data storage is a data management model that stores digital information such as photos, videos, documents, and other forms of media on cloud or virtual servers hosted by third parties. This data can be accessed via a dedicated private network or public internet (like from a smartphone).
Unlike traditional data storage methods, cloud data storage allows you to store and access data online. Let’s look at how data storage works and how it can help businesses manage large amounts of data. We’ll also look at the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage and how you can choose the right cloud data storage service for you.
What is Cloud Data Storage?
Cloud storage is a convenient way of saving files and data in an off-site location through a cloud computing provider, which can be accessed by a dedicated private network or the public internet.
The provider’s responsibility is to host, manage, and maintain the servers and associated infrastructure to provide you with data access anytime, anywhere.
With cloud storage, users get a cost-effective, scalable option to store files instead of using on-premise storage networks and hard drives.
Only a limited amount of data can be stored on computer hard drives. So you’ll need an external storage device to store your files when this space runs out.
Traditionally, companies made and maintained SANs (Storage Area Networks) to archive files and data. However, SNLs are expensive to maintain because organizations will have to add infrastructure and servers to meet the increased demand as the volume of stored data grows.
Cloud storage services offer elasticity, which allows you to adjust your storage capacity according to your needs. In addition, your organization can save on the capital costs of constructing and maintaining in-house storage networks by using cloud storage.
How Does Cloud Storage Work?
Cloud storage works like a virtual data center. Cloud services providers own and operate data storage capacities in various locations around the world.
They are responsible for managing your data’s security, durability, and capacity and making it accessible to your applications via the internet in a pay-as-you-go pricing model.
You can connect to cloud storage by either using a dedicated private connection using a website, web portal, or mobile app or through the internet.
When you acquire the services of a cloud storage service provider, you turn the various aspects of data storage, such as security, capacity, computing resources, storage servers, and data availability, over to the vendor. Then, your applications access cloud storage directly using an API (Application Programming Interface) or traditional storage protocols.
Cloud storage systems typically use large numbers of data servers to ensure the constant availability of data. As a result, if a server fails or needs maintenance, users wouldn’t face any disruption in accessing their data.
What are the Four Types of Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage is a versatile system that allows users to save important data like video files and word documents and access the cloud to run applications and process complex data from anywhere.
There are different types of cloud storage are:
Private Cloud Storage
Also known as internal or enterprise cloud storage, private cloud storage data is stored on the company’s intranet and protected by its own firewall.
This cloud storage is an excellent option for companies that own expensive data centers and can manage data privacy in-house.
The best thing about private cloud storage is it gives users complete control. But on the other hand, the cost of updates and maintenance can be pretty high.
Public Cloud Storage
This cloud storage can be accessed online by the company or users, isn’t maintained by the users, and needs a few administrative controls. Furthermore, it’s hosted by different solution providers, so there’s hardly any opportunity for security customization, as they are the same for all users.
Some popular public cloud storage solution providers include AWS (Amazon Web Services), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud.
The various benefits of public cloud storage include affordability, reliability, and scalability. It also offers zero maintenance and seamless monitoring.
Hybrid Cloud Storage
A combination of public and private cloud storage, hybrid cloud storage offers users the best of both worlds—the personalization of a public cloud and the security of a private cloud.
In hybrid cloud storage, companies typically store highly regulated data that requires strict archiving in the private cloud. In contrast, the less sensitive data is stored in the public cloud b using cloud computing services.
Organizations use this type of storage to supplement their internal storage without adding in-house storage resources. In addition, hybrid storage is affordable and offers greater user control and easy customization.
Community Cloud Storage
Like the private cloud storage model, community cloud storage provides cloud solutions for specific communities or businesses.
In this model, communities are offered cloud architecture, software, and many other development tools by cloud storage providers to meet their requirements. The data is stored in the private cloud storage owned by the community to manage its security and compliance needs.
This storage is an excellent option for financial, legal, or health companies with strict compliance policies.
Benefits of Cloud Storage
Both small and large-scale organizations can enjoy the various benefits of cloud storage. These include:
Cost-effectiveness
Cloud storage eliminates the need to purchase hardware or set aside extra capital to cover business spikes. In addition, it makes it very simple to remove or add storage capacity on demand, quickly change retention characteristics and performance, and only pay for the storage you use.
You can also move infrequently and rarely accessed data to lower-cost storage to ensure even more cost savings.
Moving data from on-premises to the cloud helps reduce the total cost of ownership by removing storage infrastructure maintenance costs and over-provisioning.
Quick implementation
Cloud storage services help IT swiftly deliver the exact amount of storage wherever and whenever needed. This allows developers to focus on solving complex application problems rather than managing storage systems.
Increased agility
Cloud service providers become responsible for maintaining and securing the stored data. This means your staff doesn’t have to worry about storage-related tasks, like procuring, installing, administrating, and maintaining, leaving them free to focus on other priorities.
Efficient data management
Cloud storage lifecycle management policies allow users to perform important information management tasks like locking down data or automated tiering to support compliance requirements.
Cloud storage can also be used to create global or multi-region storage for your distributed teams with the help of tools like replication. It’s also possible to manage and organize your data in ways that create cost efficiencies, support specific use cases, meet compliance requirements, and enforce security.
Business continuity
The cloud keeps your data protected and secured to ensure business continuity. Cloud storage providers handle concurrent device failure by detecting and repairing data redundancy quickly and efficiently.
You can also protect your data by using replication and versioning tools to recover from application failures or unintended user actions.
Unlimited scalability
Cloud data storage provides unlimited storage capacity with the option to scale up or down according to your needs.
You can provision new resources with just a few clicks without purchasing any additional infrastructure. This feature mainly helps in business continuity if there’s an unexpected surge in data volumes.
Downsides of Cloud Storage
Although there’s no denying the various advantages of cloud data storage, it also has some disadvantages. These include:
Security Issues Due to Multi-Tenancy
Multiple tenants typically share public cloud environments simultaneously, increasing security issues. To avoid this problem, using the private cloud for regulated data is best.
Risk of Vendor Lock-In
There’s a risk of potential inflexibility and vendor lock-in if you use a single cloud storage provider to store all your data. Using a multi-cloud or hybrid environment helps to ensure continuous and timely data access.
Outage and Downtime Risk
Cloud data storage managed by external providers could face an outage, rendering the stored applications and data inaccessible. Make sure your service level agreements specify downtime metrics and additional redundancy for your most sensitive data.
Cost
Companies that require large amounts of data storage capacity, or move their data frequently between the cloud and on-premises systems, can face higher monthly costs.
This amount could even surpass the cost of maintaining and implementing on-premises systems.
Latency
Users can also experience delays in data transmission from the cloud due to traffic congestion, particularly when sharing public internet connections. Companies can increase connection bandwidth to minimize latency.
Choosing the Right Cloud Storage
When choosing the cloud storage that’s best for you, it’s essential to keep the following considerations in mind:
Storage space
The amount of storage space suitable for a business depends on the volume of data it processes. For instance, a small company could choose public cloud storage services that offer their employees storage space of more than 15 GB each.
Make sure you compare the pricing plans of different public cloud storage providers before choosing the one that’s best for you.
Security
Cloud storage also works as a useful backup in case your data is compromised, but there’s no guarantee they are entirely safe from security threats. Therefore, you must be mindful of cloud storage providers’ security measures.
Make sure you have complete information about the physical security of the cloud servers and the encryption level applied to the stored data.
Maintenance and Uptime
Regular maintenance of cloud servers is essential to ensure the stored data is secure. However, network failures and downtimes can happen anytime.
Ensure you understand the maintenance schedule and uptime your chosen cloud service provider needs before buying any cloud solution.
Speed
The download speed from the cloud has a considerable effect on businesses and their ability to process data. In addition, cloud storage providers may cap the download speed, making it more time-consuming to retrieve data and run applications.
That’s why finding out the cloud storage provider’s download speed is crucial before buying any cloud storage space.
What Else to Know Before Purchasing Cloud Storage
To determine whether purchasing cloud storage will be cost-effective and result in operational efficiencies, you should also keep the following factors in mind:
Price Considerations
One of the main reasons why organizations use cloud data storage is to bring down their operational costs.
Although a large number of cloud vendors means that the prices have become very competitive, make sure that you understand how the pricing structure of each cloud storage provider works.
Some providers have a monthly subscription fee, while others charge an upfront flat fee for the whole year. In addition, some vendors may offer a certain amount of storage for free but charge organizations if they need large amounts of storage space.
It’s best to find the best pricing plan for you before choosing a cloud storage provider.
Data Storage Location
Before choosing a cloud service provider, make sure you know the physical location of the servers. If the cloud provider stores the data in a different country, then that country’s laws can affect how the data is controlled and who has access to it.
There’s also the risk of the data storage location being affected by earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes. Find out how your cloud vendor plans to protect and save your data in case of an emergency before signing an agreement.
Tech Support
Another essential thing to find out before choosing a cloud vendor is how they handle tech support. Are they available 24/7, and what is the best way to contact them?
Also, find out how quickly they respond to tech issues, as going without cloud storage services could make it impossible for you to carry on your business activities.