Cloud-Storage

Cloud storage is being used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals today. It is an advanced form of storage that involves data storage on the internet. This is done by a cloud computing provider. Cloud storage is essentially a cloud computing model that is starting to gain a lot of popularity today. With greater access to the internet and cable with companies like Cox cable bundles, people are growing more aware of digital security and privacy. As a result, technology such as cloud storage is growing in importance. However, this doesn’t come cheap. Here’s how you can decide if cloud storage is worth it.  

Cloud: Pros 

Easy Access to Data 

With cloud storage, you have the ability to access your data from anywhere in the world. Because your data is stored remotely, cloud storage doesn’t restrict its users. If you are somebody whose lifestyle requires large amounts of travel, cloud storage is especially efficient and practical for you. This means that you don’t need to be bound by time or location. This allows greater flexibility and convenience. In addition to this, if your business requires remote work and employees that work from different parts of the world, cloud storage can be of great use. With this software, employees can find it easy to communicate and collaborate on various projects and assignments regardless of location and time zones.  

Affordable Pricing 

One of the best attributes of cloud storage is that it comes at a low cost. Despite being an advanced storage software, it doesn’t require large sums of money from you. This makes it a practical and cost-effective tool. With cloud storage, you also don’t have to pay for software updates. Along with this, license payments are also not required since all these additional costs are already included in cloud storage’s monthly fee. In addition to this, users don’t require costly server infrastructure. This is because they can already access it as part of this software’s plan. 

Security 

Cloud storage offers its users an appropriate level of security. Most similar software tools have poor security and pay little attention to threats to data and security. However, cloud storage’s security is especially important to small businesses. This is because such companies cannot typically afford security. When this is automatically provided by cloud storage, it cuts costs and increases efficiency. Cloud security makes use of technology involving encryption, authentication, and password protection to maintain security.  

Cloud: Cons 

Requires Access to the Internet 

One of the biggest disadvantages of cloud storage is that it always requires you to have a stable internet connection. There are a lot of times when you’re unable to retrieve this connection. For instance, travel usually involves an inconsistent internet connection/ In these circumstances, you’re not able to gain access to your cloud storage. In addition to this, wireless connections tend to be prone to a lot of fluctuation and irregularities. If these inhibit your access, you can have problems with work quite frequently.  

Prone to Privacy Related Issues 

While cloud storage offers a basic form of security, it still isn’t enough to keep out a large number of cyber threats. The basic concept of this type of storage is that you entrust a third part company with valuable information and data. However, there have been a lot of instances where cloud storage has failed to keep users’ privacy secure. In 2013, a Yahoo security breach led to almost one billion customers being affected.  

It was later revealed that this cloud security breach affected even more customers than reports initially indicated. Moreover, companies like Facebook and LinkedIn have also had massive cloud security breaches that affected many users. Private information like email addresses, phone numbers, and house addresses was leaked from LinkedIn to the dark web. Facebook encountered a similar breach where sensitive information a made public.  

Hard to Migrate 

Cloud storage can restrict your migration once you start using it. This means that once you gain access to a specific cloud storage provider, it’s fairly hard to migrate data. As a result, you’ll face difficulties when switching to other cloud providers. Experts call this the ‘vendor lock-in’. This is especially problematic for businesses that have large amounts of data stored in a particular provider.