Are you looking for a complete storage and backup solution for your business’s data? Do you want the ability to access files remotely and scale your storage capacity quickly in the future?
Cloud storage is an increasingly popular data management solution for small to medium businesses. Cloud solutions allow business owners to reduce operating costs and the need for physical hardware, improve scalability, provide remote access for their team, and protect their data against security risks.
At Megawire, we often provide our clients with cloud storage as part of our full suite of managed IT services. In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of cloud storage, review its major advantages, and explain how it can benefit your business.
What is Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage service is a new model for data storage, used by both businesses and individuals, where digital information is stored in a secure data centre instead of on a local server or hard drive.
Service providers operate networks of servers located at data centres, accessible from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
These providers will offer maintenance, management, regular backups and encryption for your data stored on their servers, helping to reduce demands on the IT department of your business.
Solutions can range from free, public services, such as Google Drive and Dropbox, to more sophisticated and custom storage solutions for small to enterprise-level businesses.
Advantages of Cloud Storage
There are a number of advantages to using cloud storage that have made it a top choice for today’s business owner. Since 2010, it’s estimated that the cloud storage services industry has grown by approximately $4 billion.
At Megawire, we provide a range of different cloud storage solutions to fit the specific needs of your business.
Top Reasons to Consider Cloud Storage
1. Improved Operating Costs & Scalability
Businesses have the opportunity to dramatically cut back on operating costs by choosing a cloud storage solution over a physical server. Cloud storage can provide a major benefit by eliminating the initial investment required to purchase a server and associated hardware, especially for small to medium businesses.
Cloud storage also reduces the costs of monthly maintenance and provides a scalable solution for your business. If you need to significantly increase your storage capacity in the future, cloud storage will allow you to achieve the required increase without having to buy and install new servers.
2. Reduced Physical Hardware
Another advantages of cloud storage is its ability to reduce the required number of physical storage devices in your office space.
On-site servers can take up a significant amount of space for a small business—not to mention the infrastructure required for power and cooling systems.
If your business does not have the room or the infrastructure to support the required number of servers, then cloud storage is a great solution. By eliminating hardware you will reduce energy consumption and become a greener business.
3. Remote Access to Data
Do you have a business where you or your team are often out of the office? Another benefit of cloud storage is the ability to access data remotely, from anywhere in the world, via a working internet connection.
Hybrid cloud solutions can deliver even more flexibility for business owners, delivering a data solution that provides options for both on-site servers and cloud servers. This solution can host data locally to provide more bandwidth for your network, while also enabling remote access.
4. Secure Data
The most common reason that a business will use cloud storage is to ensure easy data recovery in the event of a cyber attack, natural disaster, or other emergency. Events like ransomware attacks are one of many risks to a business’s data. If something happens on site, you need to make sure your files are safe.
Service providers will deliver regular backups and keep your data secure from cyber threats in an external location. Many businesses will use cloud storage as a backup plan for their data, even if they do not use cloud storage for its other benefits.
If you are interested in a cloud storage solution for your business, contact the Megawire team today for more information.
Featured Vendor: Dell EMC
Dell EMC is a leading provider of data storage solutions in North America, offering a wide range of products and services for IT services. Their storage solutions include:
- All-Flash & Hybrid Storage
- NAS & Object Storage
- Software-Defined Storage
At Megawire, we partner with Dell EMC to provide our clients with modern data centres, industry-leading software, and future-proof storage solutions. Learn more about Dell EMC’s data storage solutions here.
