For those people not particularly tech. savvy, Cloud storage is basically a way for people or companies to store files on the web. Using cloud storage means that those files can be accessed from any computer anywhere in the world, as long as there is an internet connection available. Pretty much anybody that has used a computer sometime or another has lost information due to issues with the storage medium. While backing up to physical drives is still a good idea, cloud storage offers additional peace of mind in that your data is stored in a secured location online.
Getting started with Cloud Storage is easy. There is a plethora or companies on the internet that offer cloud storage solutions, with costs starting as little as $50 per year for unlimited storage. Once you have found the company that you wish to use, signup on whatever plan you choose and start uploading. You will be issued with your own personal login credentials to ensure that your information is secure and that you are the only person with access to it. While cloud storage is cheap, convenient and offers peace of mind, there are still a few things to be aware of before making the leap.
The first is that uploading and accessing your data, dependant of file size, can chew up your internet quota. Say you have lots of high resolution photos that you wish to upload, it can quickly chew up your upload/download quotas.
Also if access to that data at any time, day or night, is of critical importance, an outage or maintenance affecting your cloud provider can affect your business. If the files you are storing on cloud are critical then the best bet would be to back them up to a local drive as well.
Like in all business avenues there is a chance that your chosen cloud provider goes out of business. While you would like to think that said companies would inform their clients of any impending closure, the reality is that they won’t and you will lose any data that you have uploaded.
Some people also worry about people obtaining any data that you may have uploaded. While there is always a chance of some hacker accessing and stealing your information, your data is generally encrypted and storage companies go to great lengths to stop things like this from happening.
While cloud storage, like any storage system, comes with its risks, it’s an easy and in-expensive way for people to store their information offsite. Also, some other software providers only offer their software via the Cloud, which is okay to, but it all depends on how good and reliable your internet connection is to ensure you can continue to access the software and data.
