What is ‘Cloud Storage’?
Cloud Storage is a convenient way to store your documents, so you can access them anytime. With Cloud Storage, documents are not only stored on your computer, but also on an off-site storage unit, which means you and your clients can have access to it wherever you have an internet connection. Data in Cloud Storage is stored on multiple computers running concurrently, which ensures you have access to your files at any time, 24 hours a day. These web storage spaces can range from the very specific, such as photographs and email, to general servers which can host videos and allow you to transfer and keep huge amounts of data at one time. More about Cloud-Based Storage: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-storage.htm http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/A-history-of-cloud-computing
Types of Storage
Types of storage can vary hugely, and nowadays, there is virtually every type available, depending on your specific needs. Websites such as Google Documents, allow you to store important documents, and share them with other people, Flickr is a huge data space for saving photographs and YouTube allows you to upload and share videos with whoever you want, email servers like Gmail can store gigabytes worth of correspondence, and sites like megaupload will store virtually any kind of data and allow you to email the link that lets others to download it. You can also upload content from your IPhone and certain types of android phones, to store it permanently and give you more data space on your phone. Even sites such as Facebook, MySpace and blogging sites like Tumblr and WordPress are types of Cloud Storage, allowing you to upload your memories online and access them anytime you like. http://www.document-options.co.uk provides a networking service which makes it easy to share your documents among company computers.
What are the benefits of Cloud Storage?
Cloud Storage is insanely handy when it comes to backing up documents, saving them from accidental deletion or the case of your hard drive getting wiped. It also allows you to easily share documents with other people, and keep them in one place, instead of the hassle of transferring multiple data from drives, or emailing others individually with your data. This kind of storage also allows you to potentially store thousands of gigabytes of data without the need to but a whole new hard drive, or separate computer. The price for this service can range from being free; sometimes with companies charging extra for ‘premium’ services such as more space, or quicker uploads, to a flat fee, to different prices, depending on your needs. CSNET gives a rough comparison guide; how different are Cloud Databases?: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20022794-62.html
How secure is it?
This is an often-asked concern, and of course, it should be addressed. What happens to your data when it’s uploaded to the Cloud? Who can access it? Different techniques are used by different companies to safely store personal data, to varying degrees of success. Most systems now use encryption: a special kind of data coding that requires the user to have an encryption key to access it. This kind of security is widely regarded t be the safest form of online data protection, as it is very difficult for hackers to breach. In addition to this, the majority, if not all sites use a username and password system, which is usually created by the user, ensuring they can only give access to people of their choice. As you can see, Cloud-based storage is a great and convenient way to store and share documents, as well as providing a useful backup tool.