Cloud storage has become the norm in today’s society. With personal files and company information stored on a remote server, many companies are looking for ways to store their data securely and efficiently. Many people have questions about how cloud storage compares to local storage, so let’s explore the benefits and challenges of using both types of systems!

Technology is known as “cloud” has become increasingly popular in recent years because it allows large companies and individuals to access software and hardware that might exist on multiple servers or at different locations. Some companies benefit from cloud storage, but many organizations still find local storage to be more efficient. It is necessary to compare these two different types of storage before we decide which one best fits our needs.

Cloud storage is an internet-based data storage that allows for a massive expansion to accommodate more digital information.

Think of “local storage” as keeping your digital data on physical devices such as hard drives, solid-state drives, and external memory devices.

Cloud Storage vs. Local storage

Benefits of Cloud Storage

Cost

The expense of hardware or room storage is a big concern for small businesses. For many companies, the cost savings from cloud storage outweighs the initial cost of purchasing external drives.

Security

Cloud storage is often a more secure option for storing data than local storage. This is because providers have better encryption and security in place, so only authorized members of the company can access documents and files stored in “secure” cloud storage.

Accessibility

One great thing about the cloud is that you can access your files anywhere.

Syncing and Updating

You save time storing your files on cloud storage because it lets you sync and updates them across all your devices.

Recovery

If you lose your local storage due to a hard drive crashing or hardware malfunctions, you can access your files in the cloud as a backup.

Challenges of Cloud Storage

Downtime

If service providers face power loss, inferior connectivity, or anything else that affects performance, customers using cloud computing could see a slowdown of their data.

Internet connectivity

Cloud computing requires a good internet connection. Data from the cloud cannot be collected in any other way if there is no internet connection.

Benefits of Local Storage

Speed

Faster data storage – backing up to external hard drives is significantly faster than uploading backups to the cloud. Cloud storage is much more secure because you control who has access to your data, and it’s not stored on a single server.

Security controls

With a cloud storage service, you have complete access to the data that is being stored; you also what security protocols are in place and any information about those protocols.

Capacity

The primary benefit of local storage is capacity. Though 15GB may be a fair amount for cloud storage, hard drives can quickly provide up to 2TBs.

Challenges of Local Storage

Accessibility

Local storage has some significant limitations, as data is not easily accessible and can’t be shared with others without uploads or emails.

Cost

The cost of hardware and infrastructure is expensive, and adding to or upgrading storage only increases the cost.

Backup/ Recovery

If your server dies and the backups, then all data is lost. This can be a significant concern for startups who are looking to migrate their data to the cloud. Locally stored data might not have access to redundancies or backup services, but it is less vulnerable than cloud storage in the event of a fire, floods, snowstorms, etc.

When evaluating your document storage needs, the type of technology that is right for you comes down to your business goals. Today, businesses have lots of flexibility with cloud storage vs. local storage due to its affordability and ease of use in setup and maintenance. If you’re looking for a reliable recipe for how to get started, contact us.