Cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive have become popular for their convenience and accessibility. However, storing data locally on physical devices such as external hard drives, USB flash drives, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), or even your computer’s internal storage still has significant advantages in certain scenarios. While cloud storage has its merits, there are compelling reasons why keeping your data local might be a better choice for many individuals and businesses.
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5
Full control over your data
Your data is available instantly at any moment
When you store data locally, you decide where and how it’s kept. This level of control ensures that your files are not moved or altered without your knowledge. Cloud services may update their storage policies or move data between servers. If you don’t like that, you don’t have much choice but to move your data to another cloud service, which often can be time and money-consuming.
By storing your data locally, not only you can provide the proper security procedures for the data, but you can also access it at any moment without giving a second thought to connection issues and downtime. The only disadvantage is that based on your needs, the initial costs for local storage may be high.
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Increased data privacy and security
Cloud storage is not as safe as you probably believe
Every cloud service out there highlights advanced security systems and procedures to protect your data. However, the Microsoft Online Exchange breaches from only two years ago that triggered a Cyber Safety Review Board report about the incident is just one example of cloud services vulnerabilities.
Local storage isn’t immune to cyberattacks, such as malware or ransomware, but these risks are more manageable and largely under your control. You can implement stronger security measures like firewalls, antivirus programs, sandboxing, and offline backups. Moreover, you can manage user access a lot better by limiting access to sensitive data, enforcing multi-factor authentication and a lot more.
Lastly, if any alarm bells ring, the IT manager will find out about it instantly and be ready to trigger a fast security response, even if that means physically disconnecting a NAS from a rack.
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Local storage may cost less than cloud storage in the long run
This depends on your needs
Cloud storage providers usually start with free plans, but these often come with limited space. Scaling up to larger storage capacities involves monthly or annual fees that can add up over time. On the other hand, investing in local storage solutions, such as external hard drives or NAS, is a one-time cost. Plus, you won’t need to pay extra for additional features like encryption or backup options. These can be managed independently.
Of course, any local storage solution requires maintenance, and if you decide to protect it with a RAID solution, the costs are even higher. That’s why it all comes down to calculating your costs versus benefits.
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2
Instant, fast access to your data
No internet connection needed
How often have you been blocked from using a service or your cloud-stored data because of local or server connection problems? Once is enough if you can’t access time-sensitive crucial data. Even if the cloud service is working, your connection speed can fluctuate based on the server usage and bandwidth.
If your storage is based locally, you can set your limits, but the access speed will only be limited by your network infrastructure, not by internet access and your ISP. This way, even if some problem hinders the internet access, you still have your local data to work with.
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No backdoors for governments or corporations
Carefully read the privacy policies
Cloud services often have complex privacy policies that might be interpreted in multiple ways. Moreover, they might include clauses allowing the service provider to access, analyze, and share your data with third parties. Also, some cloud service providers may be legally obligated to share user data with government agencies.
With local storage, you’re not reliant on any third party, ensuring that sensitive information stays private and within your physical possession. You don’t need to worry about governments or other entities requesting access to your files from a cloud storage provider.
This is an especially important aspect nowadays. If you’re still opting for cloud storage, make sure you read all those terms of service and privacy policies.
Should you go for local or cloud storage?
Storing data locally offers unparalleled control, security, privacy, and efficiency. However, the initial costs of physical storage solutions and maintenance and management must be considered.
In turn, cloud storage as a service appears to remove these burdens and provide convenience for storing data. So, are you willing to trust a third-party service with your data, or do you want to take the matter into your own hands?
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source: https://www.xda-developers.com/reasons-why-its-better-store-data-locally-than-cloud/
