Data Backup Digest

There’s no doubt about it: storage can get costly very quickly. It’s quite a difficult line to tread. On the one hand, you don’t want to be so cheap that you’re constantly pressed for storage. On the other, you don’t want to be paying for drives and servers that you don’t need. When considering the budget for your data storage there are various things you’ll need to consider. This article will explore those factors to help you get your IT budget under control.

Is the solution flexible?

Data is ever changing. It’s likely that at the end of each business day the data being stored will have changed – whether that’s a file being edited or removed or new data entirely. If data is never static then your storage should never be permanently static either. You need to have a flexible solution that can be scaled to your requirements. Another hard drive needs to be added to the mix? The capacity allowance in the cloud needs upgrading? These should be quick and easy to solve. One day suddenly finding you’re out of storage space and then panicking to find a new drive is not suitable.

How will it affect other budgetary elements?

The budget for data storage doesn’t just cover the actual cost of the device or cloud. You also need to consider the electricity, the staff required, the physical office space and more. There’s no use increasing the storage capacity if there isn’t enough manpower to handle it. Equally, if you’re housing drives in the office then they’ll need to be cooled constantly – and that costs money. When planning your data budget be sure to consider all other business aspects.

Is cheap better? Or are you overspending?

It’s certainly no good to be spending way more on your budget than is necessary. But equally it isn’t always best to go for the cheapest option. Data is an utterly valuable resource, especially in modern business. You should not be skimping on how you store your data because the likelihood is it’s actually one of the most important business assets. Be sure that you’re budgeting for cost and quality.

Can some data be archived?

It’s true that data can mount up, but chances are a lot of that data is rarely, if ever, accessed. Old reports, spreadsheets or emails that aren’t relevant, but still need to be stored, should be relegated to an archive. These drives can remain idle and unused (or perhaps use tape) and thus can save costs. The data is still there available if needs be, but you’re not paying for its constant upkeep.

Do you need the cloud?

Using the cloud is a hip thing to do. Storing data ‘in the cloud’ has become a buzz term. But is cloud storage necessary for how your business operates? It might be that a private, local storage system is more suitable and that paying extra for cloud storage is simply unnecessary. Larger organisations may find better use for it, but if you’re a small enterprise then you could perhaps consider creating a private cloud – it’ll be cheaper for sure.