Exactly Why Cloud Storage is Cheaper Than Local Storage

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For many IT departments, cost is everything. This is especially true as the digital world is coming to the precipice of “big data,” an era where huge amounts of data need to be stored with the need of very specialized hardware capable of both storing and working with all that information. There are many ways of saving money with data storage, and one possibility is using the cloud to store your files. While there are some hidden costs to cloud hosting, many companies are finding that it beats out the hidden costs of local storage.

Cloud Hidden Costs

Unfortunately, like most services, cloud hosting businesses do have a few hidden costs you should be aware of. This may seem peculiar to bring up, considering this post is about how inexpensive cloud storage is, but you will see that the associated costs for local storage far outweigh cloud storage.

With cloud storage, the most obvious charge is storage, typically per GB. However, there is also a charge for transferring data into the cloud and transferring data out. This typically works out to about $0.10 per GB, each way. This means you have to spend money to get your files into the cloud storage, and you always have to spend money to use those files. However, considering that most providers charge about $0.20 per GB for storage, this works out to about $0.40 per GB to get it into the system and to use it, which really isn’t too much.

Local Storage Hidden Costs

When you look at local storage servers and hardware, you will probably find out that the hardware itself costs less overall than storing data in the cloud. Due to this, many people feel compelled to stay with local storage, failing to see the even higher costs associated with this storage method.

Can you run a business’s worth of servers by yourself? Some talented individuals may be able to, but most likely you will need to hire a host of specialized IT workers to use and maintain the servers. Considering that most IT professionals require between $60-$70K a year or more, a whole IT team can get very expensive.

Not only do you have to spend money on the people, but you need to build a place to store all those servers. As your business grows, you need more room, which requires more construction. Now, you aren’t only spending money, but time as well, because it will take time to make the extra room.

Lastly, servers get very hot and need a lot of power. You need to ensure the room is properly cooled so the hardware does not cause any fires or prematurely burns out. You also need to figure in operating costs for the power. All together, this makes local storage cost at least $1 per GB if you are lucky.

Cloud Storage is Inexpensive

After look at all the real costs of cloud hosting, you must see that cloud storage is the inexpensive alternative to local storage. Not only that, but it presents many other advantages above just price. You don’t have to worry about hardware faults ruining your business, and you don’t need to spend money on the power to ensure the servers are still running. All of that is taken care of for you by the cloud hosting business. If you want to optimize your business’ IT budget this year and every following year, then taking advantage of the cloud is a necessity.

This will keep you from spending too much on storage, it will be infinitely scalable and your business will receive all the major benefits from cloud storage.

Exactly Why Cloud Storage is Cheaper Than Local Storage is a post from: Technshare

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