There are many reasons for outsourcing data storage from professional online data backup providers. The reduction of costs is just one of them but there are even more important factors which are related to data safety and storage systems' reliability. There are no one-fit-for-all solutions because data structures and capacity may vary a lot, but there are some overall data handling aspects that apply to the majority of small companies.
Core Business vs. Supporting Tasks
If you read this article, storage and data backup is probably not your professional field. Data is definitely important for any organization but data storage systems are mostly designed just to support your core business. Since you don't know much about building safe storage systems, there is a great risk you are not able to develop as safe systems as professionals, who practice, learn and educate themselves in this field every day. Some examples of professional data storage providers are Backblaze, Livedrive and ZipCloud, they focus only on one particular area and offer good data backup and storage solutions, which have top security level and reasonable prices at same time.
Technology Is Changing
One of the major problems with building your own data storage systems and creating data backup strategies is that data storage technology has been developing rapidly during the last decade. If you are not doing research regularly, test new technologies, pay attention to important technical details, there is a great chance that you miss some important opportunities that would make data handling safer, more efficient and cheaper.
For example, tape backup was a preferred method for a long time, but online data backup offers faster, geographically more distributed and far more automated solutions. If you still do your backups in the old-fashioned way, you are most likely wasting more resources on hardware updates and software issues, need more man hours, your risk of losing data is higher and procedures for data recovery are most certainly outdated.
Online Backup Means Automation
There are new software solutions for performing routine tasks. If data storage and handling of backups is not your main field of activity, you may not be aware of all the opportunities offered by automation. First of all, conducting certain backup routines automatically means more reliable outcome, so you will have good quality backups done regularly. Fully automated procedures are also safer because many possible human errors are eliminated. Automation helps to save many man hours and helps to reduce costs.
What Options Are There Available?
Ever since the Internet lines became fast enough, professional online data backup and storage providers have been emerging offering services tailored for small organizations. We have been analyzing many online backup and storage providers. The best firms are Backblaze, Livedrive, ZipCloud and MyPCBackup because they have well automated and securely architectured systems. For further information take a closer look at their "Business Solutions" sections.
Flexibility and Better Performance
Outsourcing offers many advantages. For example, ability to increase data storage capacity when you need it without making huge investments in personnel, software solutions and server hardware. Investing in excess capacity may not be the wisest choice for those companies whose main strength does not lie in storage systems. You need to keep in mind that servers need constant upgrading, software requires monitoring and configurations, staff members should keep up with new information - there's just too many things to pay attention to. You will get better value for your money, and definitely better performance, if storage systems are managed by a professional company specializing in data backup systems.
Free Employees from Routine Tasks
In most small and medium size companies there are no hired specialists who are dedicated only to data storage and backup duties. It means that someone is managing data handling issues as part of their other everyday tasks. Having many things to pay attention to in data backup, there is less time for other important thing, which may actually have higher priorities for company's success. The cost of small companies employees is usually far higher than the cost of outsourcing specific, technically oriented tasks from professional data storage service providers.
Dedication Defines Outcome
Handling all data in safe manner, including creating storage and backup systems, implementing secure procedures as well as maintaining data systems on daily basis, takes some experience and professional insight.
You might think that in small companies one IT specialist is able to maintain computer hardware, update software, install virus definitions, configure firewalls and maintain all network components. Good network administrator, who is also doing maintenance for workstations, may not always be the expert of modern storage systems and can not easyly create a truly safe data backup strategy. If you demand the performance of tasks that exceed the employee's knowledge area, you may easily find yourself in a trouble. For a small company, there is little justification to hire full time data storage specialist. For implementing truly professional data storage and backup solutions, outsourcing is a solid option.
Costs Are Important, Too
It is considerably cheaper to outsource data handling from a professional service provider. Specialized data storage companies are buying drives and server hardware with bulk prices. Man-hours and software development costs are divided between servicing many clients at the same time. Most importantly it means that you do not need to invest in additional capacity. You pay only for the amount of storage you really need. Instead of building your own systems, with data backup and storage outsourcing you may save big bucks for your company.
