The worldwide tendency of digital office started long before 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to technology, small and medium businesses were able to adapt swiftly.

Digital collaboration between employees and clients was considerably ensured through data storage and sharing technologies.  

ITWORKSME tackled the market need by delivering optimal solutions to share files online, backup data, and set up remote IT infrastructure.

Here are three options to store valuable data and ensure connectivity and accessibility between colleagues and businesses:

Cloud Storage and Sharing

Cloud storage is a space to store data on the internet (the cloud). Your data are then accessed, managed, and maintained by a third-party provider in return for monthly or yearly subscription fees or per consumption rate.

Advantages

Your data are easily accessible from anywhere and anytime following tight access permissions. Cloud sharing also allows you to synchronize files automatically across your team’s desktops, laptops, or mobiles; as well as selectively synchronize cloud files down to their local devices. The means to recover files after deletion and process different edited versions of the same file is also available through cloud storage. 

Challenges

Despite the benefits, SMEs should know of the large cost incurred especially with enterprise packages including extra layers of security. Moreover, data privacy on the cloud isn’t guaranteed. Your data are not on your private servers inside your company and that may cause you to lose essential privacy controls. As for support, it tops the list of user concerns with cloud storage platforms.

Some main players in this field that offer commercial and enterprise solutions for SMEs are Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Jungledisk, others propose extra security layers at higher cost such as Citrix ShareFile, Egnyte, Zoolz BigMIND. 

Local Storage and sharing: 

Local storage is a space to keep digital data on physical storage devices inside your company on local servers.

Advantages

Data stored locally are conveniently accessed physically upon need. Storage hardware costs became much more affordable over the years. Your specialized IT team will have full control over data architecture, access rights, and information security protocols. Such control will preserve data integrity. Your team will find it much faster to upload and download data in comparison to the cloud.

Challenges

On the other hand, operation, power, and support costs will outweigh the hardware cost. Adding on more space and upgrading would drastically increase the price tag. Another downside of Local storage is mandatory off-site backups, which are crucial for any disaster recovery plan. Most importantly, remote users will have very limited access to the data they need to perform their daily tasks.

Private Cloud storage and sharing 

Setting up your private servers on the cloud combines the advantages of both local and cloud storage solutions. With Private Cloud Storage solution data are stored on servers fully dedicated to a single customer and not shared with anyone else. The servers, in this case, can be located on-premises in your company or another trusted datacenter.

Advantages

Private Cloud computing will allow you to retain full control over your data and access infrastructure. Thus, it is an inherently more secure solution. It also means you will have the option to reduce your upfront cost. The operational cost will run on monthly payments, which is more manageable mainly for SMEs. You will profit from data accessibility, automatic file synchronization across devices, selective sync, file versioning, and most importantly data integrity. 

Challenges

It is worth mentioning that selecting this solution entails trusting your chosen IT partner. Knowing that they will protect your business against IT failures and safeguard your data, is vital to bring this partnership to light. Running hosting cost should also be taken into consideration.

At ITWORKSME we offer and support all three options, but we strongly advocate for well-informed and researched choices that respect the scope of business needs and companies' budgets.

We encourage you to consult a trusted IT expert partner to know which solution is the most efficient for you.