Cloud Storage

If there's a buzzword in small business right now, it is cloud storage. Mobility is becoming the number one concern of entrepreneurs and small business owners: taking credit card transactions on mobile phones, accessing data on smart phones and tablets as well as at the office, and maintaining a single data stream across multiple computing devices is now perceived as essential.

But what is cloud storage? What’s behind the buzzword? What are its benefits, especially to small business owners? Finally, how can you find the best online storage providers out there? Read on to find out.

The Need for Online Storage

Chances are, if you are in business, you own a computer. And if you own a computer, that computer has a hard drive. The hard drive is your computer’s file cabinet; it is a physical device that contains all of the data on your machine. For decades, this has been the standard for computing.

Two major changes in computing threaten the essential nature of a computer hard drive: the Internet, and then cloud storage. The Internet allowed massive networks of computers to be interconnected, creating the largest repository of information in human history. The Internet has become faster and larger in the past fifteen years, making it capable for web-connected machines to move massive amounts of data with speed and efficiency that was unheard of only five years ago.

Because of the web evolution, it became practical for users to store large amounts of data online instead of (or in addition to, which is the optimal way to do it) on a physical hard drive. Storage in the cloud was the result.

What is Cloud Storage?

In its most basic incarnation, online storage is a virtual hard drive. Imagine a simple application that installs universally on just about any operating system, including Windows, MAS OS, Android, iOS, etc. That application accesses a hard drive that exists in the cloud, on the Internet, containing your small business’s tax records, financial information, pictures, video clips, personal notes, and just about every file that makes your business function. If a fire or other unforeseen event physically destroys every computing device you own—your desktop, laptop, smart phone, tablet, what have you—then the data is still there. You may have instant access to that data again as soon as you reach another computer. The result, as long as you have an Internet connection, is uninterrupted business continuity.

Benefits of Putting Data in the Cloud

Storing data on the web offers tremendous advantages to the small business owner. Many cloud hard drive providers offer scalable service: that means you only pay for as much storage as you need. Some providers offer a couple of gigabytes online for free, which might be enough for many entrepreneurs.

Offsite storage of data provides automatic backup: as long as you have an Internet connection, your data is available in case your computer is damaged. That’s automatic insurance: if you lose your valuable computer investment, then you will not lose your data if it is backed up in the cloud. Before the web, physical hard disk data was often physically backed up on another hard drive. At the end of the day, the data was just as subject to the physical limitations of the device. Some online storage providers keep data on temperature-maintained servers in optimal conditions with expensive fire safety systems—and those servers are backed up as well. The result is that you pay much less money for superior security.

It follows then that if your business utilizes cloud storage, then your data is available anywhere you have an Internet connection. If you get an important business call while you are stuck at the airport, and your desktop or laptop aren’t handy for obvious reasons, then a good web storage app will allow you to move the data from an Android, iPhone, or Windows Mobile device.

How Do I Find the Best Provider of Online Storage?

Many startups and companies out there are throwing their hat in the online storage ring. Prices, storage space, functionality, platform availability, and security vary widely among all of these providers. With that in mind, it is advisable to do as much research as possible before selecting the online backup service your small business will go with. To get the best deal possible, let us help. Fill out the form on this page to compare the rates and features of all the online storage services available. It’s the best way to ensure your small business is served optimally with a full-service cloud storage solution.