Businesses need their data to be…
- Safe: unaffected by disasters, like fire, floods, or natural disasters
- Secure: protected from hackers and thieves
- Accessible: available quickly and when needed
There are four categories of data storage you should know: internal storage, external storage, network storage, and cloud storage.
Internal Storage
Data is stored inside the computer. This is convenient and fast, but difficult to transfer between devices. If the device fails, the data may be lost. The most common types of internal storage are a magnetic hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state disk (SSD).
Hard Disk Drive
- Cheap (per GB)
- Large capacity
- Slow data transfer rates
- Not very durable
Solid State Disk
- Very fast
- More robust than a hard disk drive
- Expensive (per GB)
- Lower capacity than hard disk drives
External storage
Portable storage devices you connect to the computer. Their portability makes them ideal for transferring data between devices, but also makes them easily to lose or be stolen. They usually have less capacity and a lower transfer speed than internal storage devices. Examples: USB memory sticks, external hard drives.
Memory Stick / Flash Drive
- Cheap to buy
- Small and portable
- Expensive (per GB)
- Low capacity
Portable HDD/SDD
These devices are an HDD or SSD within a portable enclosure, so have the same pros and cons as internal HDD and SSD devices.
They may be connected by USB, but wireless versions are also available.
Network Storage
Storage that sits on a local area network (e.g., school network drives). Each network attached storage (NAS) or fileserver typically contains several HDDs or SSDs. They allow many users to access data through the network.
- Very large capacity
- Centralised network storage
- Full control by the organisation which owns it
- Can be complex to set up and manage
- A central point of failure
- Lots of users may reduce access speeds
Cloud Storage
Storage is provided by another company, and accessed via the internet. Examples of cloud storage include Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Apple iCloud.
- Accessible anywhere – as long as you have an internet connection
- Security and backups are handled by the cloud service provider
- No hardware to maintain
- Needs an internet connection
- Privacy concerns – where is your data stored?
- Ongoing subscription costs