Understanding the Demand for Data Storage

There will come a point in every business when the need for more data storage arises. Businesses store important information ranging from emails to documents, presentations, graphics, audio files, spreadsheets, applications, databases, and more. These are the lifeblood of many organizations and require some form of data storage management.

Current trends are fueling the demand for data storage, such as:

•          Government regulations are requiring businesses to back up certain data.
•          Many small businesses are archiving emails data back five or more years for legal reasons.
•          Viruses and spyware require more vigilant backups and storage capacity.
•          More companies are storing large media files, such as video or voice recordings.
•          Each new software application version requires more hard-drive real estate than the one before it. 

Storing and managing data is critical to a company’s success. But the reality is many companies struggle with maintaining frequent backups due to their existing IT infrastructure not allowing it. There’s concern that some organization IT infrastructures may not perform instant data recovery in the event of a failure. Many IT decision makers in organizations are struggling with data growth now and only think it will get worse.

The good news is, several storage options are available from in-house to tiers of cloud data storage. The best solution for organizations is often a combination of several storage solutions. But first, you must understand your data storage needs.

Understanding Data Storage Needs

First, businesses should assess the storage needsof their data and applications, including how and where they need to access it. Use these questions to better understand your data storage needs:

•          Which applications run on which servers?
•          Which applications create the largest number of files?
•          How old is the data?
•          How much of the older data is duplicate or stale?
•          How much data isn’t business related?
•          How quickly do you need to access the data?
•          Where do you need to access the data?

Once you understand how much data you’re working with, and when, where, and how you access it, you’ll better understand your storage needs. You can also work with a data storage company to help you select the best data storage management options for your business needs.

Cloud Data Storage Solutions

Cloud data storage offers remote storage and backup over the internet with several compelling benefits for businesses. Backing up important files in a secure, remote server protects data stored onsite. It makes it easy to share large files with clients or partners with password-protected access online without trying to send large files via email.

In most cases, you can log into your account from any web browser or through a desktop app. This makes it easy to retrieve files no matter where you are in the world, or if you’re away from your PC. Remote storage can be slower, as it’s only as quick as the speed of your network access to storage. For much larger files, it’s best to invest in higher speed network access.

Looking for a data storage company to help with your data storage management needs? At Datera, we understand data powers your business. Contact us today to learn how we can help solve your company’s data storage needs.