Leverage and competitiveness of a business are but sharp edges that should not be dull at any cost. This is the period in economic history wherein the market is vibrant with vendors claiming reign over the battle between brands. A moment’s gain and a moment’s loss, were all part of the game. Businesses should be quick in grabbing every opportunity for innovation to stay ahead of the competition. Maintaining business stability is another side of the story, with many factors and aspects to consider in order to thrive and succeed in living another day in the stock market.
Benefits of Technology in Business
With all this chaos, the calm comes when technology comes to play, in the form of business tools. Technology is an important aspect of productivity, convenience and leverage. Technology assisted marketing campaigns become more aggressive and creative, reaching to more people at a faster rate. Technology based services are usually more efficient to implement. Ultimately, technology advances further what is already viable and usable.
Roles of Data and Information Today
In our time, consumers and businesses alike are consuming, sharing and storing data more than what it used to be before. They say, we are living in the information age, or that period where data are becoming commodities. Data, and large amounts of it, are widely available because of computer technology, or more specifically, the internet. Utilizing information and content has already become part of our routines; from e-book readers, step by step videos, social media networking, getting a transportation commute (call Uber!), company loyalty card programs, etc. All of these are information and data based routine actions, which calls for location, multimedia content, files, documents and data streaming.
With these vast types of data available, there is a need for a more expansive network to hold large amounts of it, and at the same time, maintain a collaborative, or even single, platform for a processing and distribution. For consumers, they need a networking platform to enable them to connect with their peers and share data seamlessly. For businesses, local data storages need an upgrade to be able to support a more effective disaster recovery program concerning data.
Data plays a significant role in both personal and professional aspects of our lives. It is not enough that data is constantly being shared to be able to survive, but must be stored as well, for future reference. Digital assets are becoming richer and widely shared because of the rise of smartphones and tablets. This calls for another web based application that will be capable of making data available online in a more efficient way.
Overview of Applications and Use of Cloud Storages
In businesses, there is an increasing interest in deploying internet based storage to backup inactive data. Furthermore, the inclusion of web based tools and other collaborative features appeal to businesses in pushing full adoption of cloud based storages in their organization.
Full migration to cloud file storage service, however, must be accompanied by comprehensive weighing of pros, cons and its long term impact on the business. As with any adoption of new technologies in a business setting, there are risks involved as well. But it cannot be denied, that there area number of significant advantages of cloud storages over local data storages currently being implemented today:
- Cloud storage companies are capable of multi-tenancy network architecture, whereas local data storages are just “as it is” type. In local data storages, the server acts as the data host, which contains all accessible and shareable data within the network.This server, however, cannot segregate access from different company departments. In cloud storages, this is addressed by establishing multi tenant capability, which enables several encryption mechanisms to be deployed according to the type of data it contains. This way, data that don’t concern a certain user will hinder him from accessing it, unless he has the right encryption key.
- Cloud storage providers offer a bigger storage capacity, technically, over local data storages. Since cloud storages operate within a virtual network, its capacity is not bounded by physical means unlike with local data storages. This makes cloud storage networks highly scalable, to be able to cater to users of small up to an enterprise business setting.
- Cloud backup storages are more flexible in terms of the amount of data that you can carry when mobile. In local data storages, this is limited upon the capacity of the storage device. But with cloud storages, all data resting on your cloud storage account can be easily accessed through the internet, without the bulk of carrying another device.
- Cloud file storage services in business are more cost efficient to deploy overall, compared to local data storages. As we know, local data storages are classified according to capacity sizes, which vary, too. You have to know beforehand how much data space you would need in order to hold all your data. This is particularly tricky since data is constantly accumulated over time. The problem with less data on a large amount of space is wasteful practice. It is also not a wise investment for businesses, since local data storage capacities are constantly increasing, and costs become low. There will also come a point that a particular storage capacity, or the model, will become obsolete, thus if you are still deploying it and it encounters errors, it may be rendered unserviceable right away. Whereas in cloud storages, all hardware and networking infrastructures are being shouldered by the third party host (in public storages), and the business will just lease a part according to the amount he only needs at the moment.
- Cloud storages have enhanced security features for data than local data storages. Cloud storages work in the principle of data redundancy, or that technique wherein the system replicates data in multiple copies, and sends each one in different servers. This is done so that if one server crashes, there are still other servers that contain the same data. This setting is especially ideal in disaster recovery scenarios, which make up 63% of the highest ratings given by company executives as their number one purpose of getting cloud storages, according to a survey in 2013.
Cloud Storage for Small Businesses
Since cloud storages are highly scalable, even small businesses can benefit from using it, without the bulk of purchase. With most popular cloud storage providers nowadays offering a substantial amount of free storage capacity, small businesses can even adopt it with no extra cost. So what are the benefits of deploying cloud file storage services across small businesses?
- Collaborative work is achieved, because of a centralized data center wherein team members can access its files and documents remotely via the internet. This is especially favorable when a worldwide selection of team members is needed. Cloud storages overcome geographical barriers since it is internet based.
- There is no need to hire a data manager to supervise data management and control. This saves quite a lot of money long term.
- Data in cloud storages are mobile; meaning data can move along as the user moves. This is a more enhanced mobility, and cross platform access.
- In the case of natural disasters or technical errors that can be present when using technology based products or services, data within cloud storages are technically safe inside. It is operating in a virtual world, therefore, there is no physical site that can be destroyed nor lost.
Cloud Storage for Medium Business Scales
Mid-sized businesses have a bit more requirements in terms of scale and capacity. But this isn’t a problem with cloud storages, as it can deploy the same benefits with small businesses, plus these:
- On-demand and active data access and sharing are possible with cloud storages. It isn’t just for static files and documents, but cloud storages can also make sure that users can immediately view the changes that have been made inthe data it holds.
- Through cloud computing, it isn’t just data that can be shared within the network system, but applications as well. This grants ease in creating a collaborative environment wherein data is not the only one solely centralized, but with the applications that is used to process it.
- Cloud storages significantly reduce IT capital over additional on-premise data management hardware system implementation. It also makes a cost-efficient alternative to local data storage systems by eliminating costs in establishing the network. Cloud storages, in turn, utilize the expansive network of the internet to deliver data to and from the host system for better and more efficient access, without the extra cost.
- By using redundancy technique, data stored in cloud storages are better secured. This is because the system makes multiple copies of the data, and sends it over multiple servers for increased protection.
Cloud Storage for Enterprise Setting
Enterprises require more elaborate functions and requirements when it comes to data storage, backup and management. In cloud storages, there are three types of service models, made to resemble a stack, namely SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Enterprises utilize any, or mostly, a combination of 2 or everything. Let us briefly take a look at how each function:
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) – these are made for end users, wherein it pertains to applications accessible from devices such as web browser and email service.
- Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) – these pertains to tools, programming, objects, algorithms, libraries, etc., that the user can utilize to create and deploy custom made applications via the internet.
- Infrastructure-as-a-Service – these pertains to overall network, hardware, software and power elements that make up the whole system.
Mobile Cloud Storages
Mobile cloud storages, or personal cloud storages, are subsets of public cloud storages, which enable data offloading and automatic syncing of data into the web. This is done from the user mobile handsets such as smartphones and tablets. The same application can run in both mobile and desktop platforms for easier access. Mobile cloud storages are becoming popular, as simultaneously happening in the field of social media networking and mobile internet usage.
In 2015, a usage statistics revealed several insights about the use of digital media and its link in social networking applications in mobile devices:
- About 2.8 hours, is the time that an average American in the US, is used in dealing with digital media.
- Social media networking is the most popular application where users spend time the most, got 29%.
Conclusion
Technology based products and services seem to both widen the consumer’s perspective of his world, but stiffens geographical boundaries. It has also proven to make lives easier, and enables employees to be more productive in their jobs. Nowadays, technology has already touched most aspects of our lives, and it cannot be denied, the number of improvements we felt since it happened. Although of course, anything we decide has its own set of drawbacks, and there is always room for improvement.
Today is a market full of choices; over what is more effective in the long run versus momentary “trends” and “hypes” that upgrades or become obsolete easily. In this fast paced world, we should be wary of making technology work for us, and not the other way around.
Uncover the most mentioned reasons in hailing cloud storages the most preferred type of data storage, backup and management today. See revelations from top cloud storage companies, as well as from client reviews of cloud storage companies and their services.
John Tovar
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