Cloud storage is one of the most hyped technologies in the IT storage industry, but who is actually using it and how can you tell if it's right for your organization? According
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to the most recent Storage
magazine/SearchStorage.com purchasing intentions survey, "23% of respondents use some form of
cloud storage for primary or nearline storage vs. 14% last spring." Furthermore, the survey also
concluded that "4% [of users] trusted some of their data center primary data to the cloud; this
time around, users have more than doubled [9%]" since the last survey.
We've collected our top five tips and articles on small business cloud storage. If you're one of the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) users on the fence about whether to jump on the cloud storage bandwagon, brush up on your cloud storage knowledge with these tips and articles. Find out when a cloud storage provider is good for primary data storage. Learn about the pros and cons of cloud storage services for SMBs. Then, read why SMBs are looking to the cloud for e-discovery and compliance and why cloud backup and cloud storage are predicted to be a growing trend for 2011. And last, download latest information on cloud data storage in an essential guide from sister site SearchStorage.
Are
cloud storage providers good for primary data storage?
Although there is a lot of hype about cloud storage in the industry today, it's important to
carefully consider it, especially if you're a SMB. Using the cloud for primary storage may not
actually do your SMB any good, especially in terms of application performance, which is very
sensitive to storage response times. If your application is running slow trying to get data to and
from the cloud, your productivity rate will drop. However, if your SMB is using a cloud computing
service such as Google Docs., then using cloud storage is a good idea. Read more about using a cloud
storage provider for primary storage and whether it's a good idea for your SMB in this tip.
Cloud
data storage services for smaller businesses: The pros and cons
Small business
cloud storage has had a hard time catching on in the data storage industry because many users
have questions about its advantages and disadvantages. What does it cost? Is it easy to expand? How
much control do you have over your environment? Is it high maintenance? Find out the answers to
these questions and learn about the pros and cons of cloud
data storage services for small businesses.
SMBs
look to cloud storage services for data compliance and e-discovery
Several SMBs are beginning to use cloud storage services for e-discovery requirements and data
compliance needs. SMBs are outsourcing their email and customer relationship management systems to
Storage-as-a-Service (SaaS) or cloud providers because of cost savings. Read more about small
businesses using cloud
storage services for compliance and e-discovery.
Top
SMB data storage technology trends for 2011
Cloud backup and recovery and cloud storage gateways are among the top 10 predicted data storage
technology trends for SMBs in 2011. Cloud backup is predicted to move up in the SMB market because
its costs are declining. And cloud storage gateways look promising for SMBs in 2011 because of
their operational value; they can automatically move old data to the cloud while keeping a small
storage footprint onsite. Read more about cloud
storage trends for SMBs for 2011.
Cloud
data storage: New technologies make cloud storage more appealing
Cloud technologies have recently started to mature and look more promising than when they first
appeared on the market. New products and services are popping up to fit the needs of companies
large and small. But many companies are still weary of adopting cloud storage. In this
SearchStorage essential guide, learn about the five best practices for moving to the cloud; see if
cloud backup is right for your organization; look at an extensive cloud product guide; read about
cloud SLAs; and discover how to build a cloud storage services business. Download the full guide on
cloud
data storage.
This was first published in January 2011