Many organizations have had challenges with data storage. The new technological advances have brought a new twist on how to store data. Hackers, on the other hand, have made data storage a sophisticated process that needs to be secured. Traditionally, data storage meant making copies of documents, emails, photos and applications and then storing them in a drawer or a safety deposit box. However, a lot has changed with advances in technology.
Data storage
Optical disks
Optical disks are probably the most common storage means for video and data files in the recent past. The writable Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs are readily available in the market. The CDs can hold data up to 700Mbs while the DVDs can hold up to 4.7 GB of data. The Blu-ray disks have a larger capacity of about 25 GB. The challenge that this optical disks face is the fact that they have limited storage capacity and can become bulky in cases where one has a lot of data to be stored. Some Notebook PCs do not even have the disk compartments making their use a big challenge.
External hard drives
External hard drives are probably the cheapest data storage products in the market. One can get up to one terabyte of storage capacity at very affordable rates. They are mechanical devices that spin at very high speeds and made of very complex circuit designs. The advantage that the external hard drives have over the optical disks is that they are faster to read and write. The typical lifespan of hard drives is between two to eight years depending on the way they are handled. This makes them unreliable for people who want to store data for a very long time.
Flash drives
Flash drives are also known as solid state drives (SSDs) mainly because they do not require any mechanical movement in the reading and writing process. Flash manufacturers claim that they can retain data for ten years even though they sometimes fail if they are left unpowered for long periods of time. They are small in size making them ideal for data transfers between devices. They are slightly expensive compared to hard disks and susceptible to viruses.
Cloud storage
This is probably the way to go on how to store data safely. Cloud storage services include iCloud, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. This is a secure means of storing data online and also allows you to access it from any location.