Many Dallas colocation companies, regardless of the field, are either already working in the cloud or considering cloud technology for their business. The cloud is a mainstream solution that can provide a wealth of benefits for companies that need to collaborate with people around the country and around the globe, and it offers a wealth of storage options. Cloud storage works well for individual consumers as well as for businesses, and storage solutions are available that can suit every need and budget.
However, it is also important for companies to remember that with all of the benefits that come from hosting a cloud storage system there will also be some drawbacks. Understand both and then make a final decision on whether hosting your own cloud storage system is a good option for your business or not.
The Pros of Hosting a Cloud Storage System
First, consider all of the great things that having a cloud hosting system will offer. It can allow you and those who work at the company to have access to data from nearly anywhere that is able to connect to the system. Therefore, if there is Internet access, everyone will have access to the information in the storage system, even if you are not at work. It’s possible to access data through smart devices as well, which makes it easier for business owners and mobile workers to obtain the information they need. The old system of having onsite servers meant that it was only possible to get the data while at work and on the company’s networking system.
Another benefit of hosting a cloud storage system is that it can free up physical space at the company, as well as free up the IT resources. Instead of maintaining and worrying about storage servers at the company, they can focus on other aspects of their job to make sure everything is running properly. This could even reduce the need for added IT personnel, which could help save the company some money.
The cloud is also easily scalable. What does this mean for businesses? Those businesses that are currently small but growing will simply scale up their storage needs through the cloud rather than needing to buy additional servers to keep on site. Scaling up, as well as down, is fast and easy, and it’s far cheaper since businesses will not have to buy their own new servers to keep on-site.
When hosting a cloud storage system, it also happens to be easy to keep everything and everyone at the company up to date. They will all be working on the same updated documents. It is fast and easy to apply updates, maintenance, patches and more so that the business continues to run smoothly without downtime.
One of the best things about hosting a cloud storage system rather than having on-site servers is that it mitigates the possibility of full-blown data loss. In the event of a disaster, such as a fire or a flood, servers kept on business grounds could be destroyed. Unless there were offsite backups, it would mean the data was gone forever. However, when using the cloud storage systems, it eliminates that risk. It makes is easy to have backups and redundant copies of the data so there’s virtually no chance that you will lose everything. This is a low cost and simple way to ensure disaster recovery in case the unthinkable happens.
Using a cloud storage system also helps to keep the costs down, since you only have to pay for the amount of space that you use. Companies do not have to make large initial investments either, so they don’t have to worry about putting their money into server hardware.
The Cons of Hosting a Cloud Storage System
While it is easy to see just how many benefits are available for those companies that do decide to host a cloud storage system, it is just as important to remember some of the potential drawbacks. These are relatively small issues when compared with the benefits offered, but companies still need to understand how those cons could affect their business.
First, there is a chance of outages, although this is not very likely. In the event of an Internet outage, it would not be possible to access the data in those files from the computers at work. If mobile devices still have a web connection though, it could then be possible to access the files from there. A widespread outage would have the potential to damage a business if it were to last for days, but the likelihood of that happening is minimal.
One of the other potential drawbacks is that it is possible to use a large amount of bandwidth when sending and receiving larger files. This can take up resources, and it could take up time. However, the risks here are minimal, again, as most systems are reasonably fast and robust enough to handle large tasks quickly and efficiently. It’s still something that those who want to host their own cloud storage system should consider, however.
When you are going through a provider for the cloud space you need for storage, consider every line of the contract you sign. Make sure that you know and understand how long you may have to be with certain providers before you can move and start to use other resources. Additionally, consider all of the costs that could come if you need to upscale the system for more storage. If your company starts to grow quickly, for example, will you have to pay a substantial amount more, or is it still a good price? Know everything you possibly can about the companies you work with when you are using cloud storage, just so there are no surprises.
Another element to consider is privacy. You may need to encrypt your data – in fact, most companies will do this – as a means to protect it from prying eyes. Those could be the eyes of hackers or even the government. Keeping your data safe should always be a top priority, so make sure encryption is a part of your storage system just to be on the safe side.
More Good than Bad
Hosting your own cloud storage system has some excellent benefits, as noted in this article. In fact, the pros outweigh the potential cons. However, when you are considering just how you want to keep your data, consider the elements that are the most important. You want to keep the data secure and safe, and you want to make sure that you have the best deal on the system possible so it remains a cost effective solution. Working with cloud servers, which can offer backups, encryption, and more is a simple way to get started. Choose a high quality and simple storage solution that will work the best for you and your company.