Which is a better back-up option for the data in your computer—traditional, portable hard drive or the cloud? Consider the pros and cons of each before deciding on one.
For most people, the information they store on their computers—contacts, documents, presentations, audio clips, etc—is often more valuable than the device itself. What happens if something goes wrong with your PC? Storing information safely is essential so that you can access it even if your computer crashes. For many years, portable hard drives or USB drives (also called flash drives) have been the primary means for data back-up. Now, cloud computing offers another option for storing information online. There are a number of services on the Internet that you can use to upload your data and access it later, either by downloading it or viewing and editing it online. While these save you the need to lug around your laptop everywhere, are they viable or good enough to replace the trustworthy portable drives? This depends on several factors, including the capacity you need. Here’s what you should consider before resorting to cloud storage.
Cost and capacity
If you want to get maximum storage bytes for your buck, the portable hard drive is a far better option than the cloud. Purchasing a 1 TB portable hard disk drive from a manufacturer like Seagate or Iomega is likely to lighten your wallet by 5,500-6,000. Buying storage online is generally more expensive. Getting 1 TB of online space from Google, for instance, will cost $256 (about 13,000) a year. This is the annual fee, which means the recurring expense will be more in the long run. On the brighter side, most online services come with a certain amount of free storage, which is often sufficient for those who just need to store a few documents. For instance, Windows Live SkyDrive offers 25 GB of free storage, Google Docs and Box.comallow you 1 GB of online storage, while Dropbox lets you store 2 GB of data free of cost. However, you will need to use the Internet to access your cloud storage, and this will cost you money.
Ease of use
Though cloud storage costs more than its physical counterpart, it is usually much easier to use. You can access your data from any computer without needing to carry a hard drive. You can also, in many cases, view the stored information from a tablet or a smartphone. However, portable hard drives can save not just documents but also the entire content of your computer, from the operating system to various programs. You can restore these if something goes wrong with your computer. It is difficult to conduct a similar exercise through a cloud storage service.
Connectivity
Storing your data on the cloud will let you access it from just about any device, but it also means that this depends on how easily you can connect to the Internet. Connectivity within the country can be erratic and you could find yourself unable to access the information you have stored if you are stuck in an area with limited or poor network. There are no such restrictions when it comes to a portable hard drive. It will work with any computer or gadget that has a USB port.
Sharing and collaboration
If you need to share information often, head to the cloud to store it. This is because sharing a document or file stored online is as simple as giving the other person the right to view or even edit it. Try doing the same with the data stored on a hard drive and you will either have to send the drive to the person concerned or will have to extract it from the drive and mail it to him. In the case of cloud storage, you can even edit documents simultaneously using services such as Google Docs and Windows Live SkyDrive, which is not possible while using a portable hard drive.
Versatility
The limited connectivity options in the case of a hard drive means you can use these mainly to back up information that is on your computer. However, cloud storage options let you retain information from your tablets and mobile phones too, making them the perfect choice for those who carry their data across devices.
Security
The idea behind storing your data in places other than your computer, handset or tablet is to keep it safe. When it comes to security, there is not much that separates physical storage from its cloud peers. In both the cases, the information can be kept secure with a user name or password. However, storing your information online keeps it relatively immune to physical theft and damage. A portable hard drive can be stolen or can crash due to a hardware problem. On the other hand, accounts can be hacked, though this is harder work than just picking up a drive that is lying near a computer.
Head for the cloud when ...
• You can easily access a fast Internet connection and preferably have an unlimited data plan.
• You want to share information smoothly without the hassle of downloading and uploading it repeatedly.
• The files you want to share are not too large in size.
• You need to access the data from different devices and do not always carry your computer with you.
• Other people may need to access or alter the data through their personal computers.
Where to store in a cloud
• Google Docs: docs.google.com
• Dropbox: dropbox.com
• Windows Live SkyDrive: skydrive.live.com
• Box: box.com
• SugarSync: sugarsync.com
NIMISH DUBEY ET 23J0112
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