If you are running out of storage space or find that your current way of storing data makes it difficult to manage and use, then it’s time to consider an alternative option. Today, growing numbers of businesses are finding that the cloud is the best place to store their documents, files, and data. Here, we’ll explain seven reasons to store your data in the cloud.
- Never run out of space again
The amount of data that businesses store is growing exponentially. Companies are collecting more types of information than ever and keeping it for longer – and as they grow, so does the amount they generate. That can cause problems when storing it as it’s easy to run out of server space.
The benefit of storing it in the cloud is that no matter how much data you have, your vendor will always have enough space to store it. What’s more, upgrading to a bigger capacity package can be done very easily and quickly. It is also much less expensive than buying a new and bigger server. - Easy accessibility
Centrally storing all your data in the cloud means that none of it gets buried in departmental silos, making it accessible to anyone you have given access permission. What’s more, when someone updates a file and saves it to the cloud, everyone will have access to the latest update.
Equally important for the modern business is that being in the cloud, the data can be accessed over the internet. This means your employees don’t need to be in the office to do their work; they can work remotely or be out on the road and still have access to it on any device with a connection. - Solid security
Cloud vendors have to meet strict security regulations to keep your data secure. Their employment of security experts and use of the latest firewalls, anti-malware and intrusion prevention tools provide levels of security hard to match in-house. Of course, you’ll need to implement your own security measures, such as access rights, strong passwords and two-factor authentication, but, together, these make your cloud-stored data extremely secure – especially when the cloud provides a centralised repository for it all to be stored and securely managed.
In addition, your data is protected against data loss through hardware failure. If there is an issue with hardware in a cloud datacentre, the virtual server on which it is stored will simply be moved to another physical machine. It will always be there and always be online for you to access. - Cost-effective storage
A cloud storage package is far less costly than the capital expenditure needed to purchase a large storage server. Neither are there any additional running costs, such as electricity, insurance or premises rent. Your vendor will even take care of the hardware management for you. - Makes collaboration and file sharing a breeze
Cloud storage gives companies the ability to share files and sync updates and new additions. Files can be sent to other users and audiences can be invited to access data available online. This helps teams collaborate far more effectively no matter where the members are based, giving them all access to the most up to date versions. - Complete convenience
When data is stored in the cloud, it can be accessed directly from the internet. This means it’s not reliant on any internal business system or specific device. You won’t need to be connected to your internal business network, use a company computer or plug in an external storage device. What’s more, viewing or working on a file can also be done online, meaning that you won’t need to fill up storage on devices, though copies of files can be downloaded if required.
It’s also worth considering that cloud servers offer exceptional performance, their all-flash storage and Intel CPUs ensuring that data-heavy applications will run like clockwork. - Cloud for backups and disaster recovery
Apart from storing everyday data in the cloud, many companies use cloud storage to back up their servers and websites. With incidents of hacking, malware and ransomware on the rise and the risk of accidental data deletion, a backup enables a company to swiftly restore their data and even entire servers if a disaster does occur. The sooner a business can recover from a disaster, the better chance it has of survival.
Cloud backups can be automated to take place at scheduled intervals, are checked for integrity so that you know you’ll have a fully working backup to restore with, they are encrypted for security, stored remotely from your online server and don’t take up any of its existing storage space. As a result, they offer businesses the best possible backup solution.
Conclusion
Cloud storage has many benefits over keeping your data stored on-site. You’ll always have enough space, your data is easily accessible and secure, it’s convenient and makes collaboration easy, is perfect for backups and is highly cost-effective.
For more information, visit our Cloud Hosting or Backup Solutions page.
