NEW YORK – We all know that recently, many cloud computing services have gained lots of fans. Many people choose to use this way of storing their data because it’s accessible, flexible and affordable. But it’s also important to know how to adequately use a cloud storage option and how to integrate it with the entire protection strategy you’re adopting. Usually, it is recommended for you to use some other protection software, such as the novabackup. But let’s see why you shouldn’t completely rely on cloud storage:
- How Accessible Is It in Fact?
Indeed, everybody says that cloud storage is really accessible. And it generally is, but what happens if you don’t have any Internet access? The downside here is that you depend completely upon Internet in order to access your own backups. Or maybe you do have an Internet connection, but it’s really slow? Just imagine how long it would take for you to restore the data you have stored on the cloud to another system. Because of this, you should consider twice if you want to use only a cloud storage service.
- It’s Redundant
A backup is useful only if you can recover data from it. Just imagine what would happen if you were the victim of such a ransomware attack, just like it happened in the last weeks. Since your computer would be infected, the cloud storage option would suffer as well, which means that the copy of your data which you stored there has become redundant. As long as the local storage device is connected to the network, the latter may also become a victim of the attack. Yet again, the cloud storage alone is not a good option if you want to keep your data safe.
- It Isn’t that Reliable
As much as you’d love cloud services, you have to be aware of the fact that not all providers will survive forever. What happens if the cloud storage provider you chose goes bankrupt or simply goes out of business? Most likely, the data you stored there would be gone. Another possibility is that the data you stored would be transferred to a different company, which may impose some new rules and you might not like them.
- Complying to the Rules
Whenever you sign up for a cloud storage option, you as a customer are responsible for the compliance and the security of the data stored there. As such, how do you feel when passing on this responsibility to the cloud company? If you’re working in a highly regulated industry, there are some serious fines if the data doesn’t comply to the rules, so think well if you’re willing to risk it or not.