As frequent Internet users, consumers generate a lot of data that can help organizations worldwide boost their customer engagement. If this data is of high importance to global organizations, don't you think it has even greater worth in the hacking industry?
Consequently, we must maintain a safe repository of our data to keep it far from the reach of hackers.
Bearing in mind the evolving cloud data storage services offered by ace technology makers like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, many consumers find local backups more appropriate.
What could be the reason behind it?
It is because cloud storage is costly, risky, and vulnerable to data leakage. New age consumers are mindful of choosing a tangible data backup solution that assures security of their PII (Personally Identified Information).
Local Backup and Its Significance
Commonly known as an on-premise backup, a local backup is a much more convenient option to maintain and save system files, applications, and other data safely on a local drive or storage media. Tape, hard drives, flash drives, CDs, etc., are key local backups used by organizations and individual users.
Let's look closely at the argument to learn why local backup is better than Cloud.
Cloud Storage Vs. Local Backup
Cloud storage is an online data backup space that maintains a repository of crucial information on multiple servers at different locations. Whereas, local backup is used for sustaining important data on a physical storage media like a Hard Disk drive (HDD), Solid-state Drive (SSDs), or external storage device.
Local backup, if configured correctly, can be a much better resource than cloud storage. Primarily because HDDs and SSDs are accessible offline, unlike cloud services that are internet reliant. Trusting your confidential data absolutely on cloud storage could be risky. Read this informative piece to understand why cloud backups aren't enough.
Below are some key benefits of local backup over cloud that will help you take the call to switch to local storage:
- Cost-Efficient: Saving terabytes of data on local backup will be much more cost-efficient than cloud storage, which is a costly storage space. A secure cloud storage like iCloud is even more costly. If you invest in a high-quality storage like a flash drive or hard drive and aptly store it, then it will last for a long time, eliminating the worry of losing the data stored in it.
- Safety Control: From a security point of view, your data remains protected because only you have absolute control over local backup devices or storage media. You have the authority to decide who can use or access your local backup. While in Cloud, there's a constant security threat involved where hackers or intruders can access your data. For instance, in 2014, an anonymous hacker gained access to hundreds of celebrity iCloud accounts and leaked their personal photos & videos.
- Easily Accessible: Since local backup is not internet reliant, it is more durable than Cloud. You can easily and immediately access your storage device when required. On the contrary, seamless cloud storage accessibility depends on the internet connection. Though Internet is rampant now, but in most of the rural areas, users still suffer a weak connectivity. As a result, if you travel to such geographic locations, cloud storage will give you a tough time accessing the files stored on Cloud. Moreover, if the cloud service provider suffers a cybersecurity attack, you may be denied access to your data stored on Cloud for an indefinite period.
Reasons to Switch to Local Backups
Many users don't know the right approach to use local backup. If you have made up your mind to switch to local backup from cloud, these are the guidelines you must follow to move a massive amount of data to a local storage drive:
Keep It Organized
A lot of people find it difficult to keep their local backup organized and face difficulty finding a specific file or document. Thus, they prefer using cloud backup, where it is easy to rename documents and maintain folders. To maintain local backup in an organized manner, you must label and file the label details in a document on your computer to refer it whenever required. Simply categorize the sequence of storage drive or media per its type and data storage data. You can also classify the data stored in local drives as official, personal, or family data.
Take Data Backup
Your external storage drives or USB won't backup itself. Get habitual of taking data backup in your computer, other storage media, or cloud (for extremely significant files) frequently. As a result, you won't lose data in unfortunate circumstances like physical damage to the drive. Don't hesitate to take double backup of the data stored in external drives at two different spaces. So that if one fails, other options remain at your disposal.
Appropriate Storage
Many external drives are prone to outside exposure like harsh light or extremely cold environment like direct sunlight or cold water. Keeping a permanent space to preserve local backup in a cool, dry place is a practice all the big enterprises follow. You can also implement the same at your workstation or home.
Spot Early Signs of Breakdown
If you hear any unfriendly sound from the external drive or observe any unpleasant glitches in the drive, immediately take action to fix or replace it. A breakdown of the storage drive will cause major data loss and may affect your system.
When switching to local backups from cloud, if you find one or more corrupt files, documents, or data, then use a professional data recovery software to bring it back to life. We recommend Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows, a software known for its extraordinary features and consistent outcomes. You can easily recover all sorts of data, be it word documents, emails, photos, videos, audio files, folders, and likes. The software supports all kinds of local backups or storage media like HDDs, SSDs, USB Drives, SD Cards, and MicroSD Cards. Refer to this knowledge base to learn more about its vital benefits. In case your computer or laptop is unable to read or identify a storage media, refer to this blog to recover data from external hard drive that isn't detected.
Conclusion:
If your job involves frequently creating and stocking massive amount of data, will you choose ? a convenient but unsecure backup option like Cloud or a robust & secure option like a local backup. Of course, you'll pick the latter because data is an asset and you cannot risk losing or exposing it to the wrong hands. Despite all the security measures, an IT team or a cloud service provider that offers online backup remains vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. A local backup can forestall such unwanted data loss incidents while giving you the liberty to store a massive amount of data in-house. Like any other business decision, ultimately the choice is yours that should depend on your data security goals. Understanding the pros and cons of cloud storage vs local backup is worthwhile to determine and plan the right approach to store or access data.