What are the 3 most effective ways to store data?

In the world of technology, data is king. As individuals and businesses generate more and more data every day, finding effective ways to store all that information is crucial. The three most effective data storage solutions are local storage, cloud storage, and hybrid storage.

Local Storage

Local data storage involves saving information to a device or server in a physical location like an office or data center. This is data storage on-premises rather than off-site in the cloud. There are two main forms of local storage: internal storage inside a computer like the hard drive and external storage on devices like USB drives, SD cards, and external hard drives. Here are the pros and cons of local data storage:

Pros:

Full control – With local storage, you control the physical hardware and storage media. You don’t have to rely on a third-party provider.

Security – Keeping data onsite allows for tighter control and security, especially for sensitive information.
Speed and performance – Local hardware connections are faster than bandwidth-constrained cloud connections.
Cost – After the initial hardware investment, local storage is cheap to scale and maintain.

Reliability – Data stored locally is accessible even if the internet goes down.

Cons:

Limited scalability – Expanding storage capacity requires purchasing and adding new hardware.
Hardware management – Onsite equipment must be maintained, repaired and replaced as needed.

Vulnerable to localized failures – Data loss can occur due to onsite disaster, hardware failure, or human error.
Geographic restrictions – Physical locality makes accessing data from multiple locations a challenge.
Upfront costs – Purchasing storage hardware and infrastructure demands significant upfront investment.

Overall, local data storage solutions like SAN (storage area network), NAS (network attached storage), and local servers give you maximum control over your data. This works best for businesses with onsite IT staff to manage storage hardware and infrastructure.

Cloud Storage

Cloud-based data storage involves saving information to an offsite data center operated by a cloud provider like Amazon, Microsoft, or Google. Rather than being limited to physical hardware you own, you can leverage the storage capacity, processing power, and networking of the cloud provider’s massive infrastructure. Here are the main benefits and drawbacks of cloud data storage:

Pros:

Scalability – Cloud storage can scale to accommodate data growth since it’s not limited to fixed onsite hardware.

Accessibility – Data can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection on any device.
Collaboration – Files stored in the cloud can easily be shared and accessed by distributed teams.
Automated backups – Cloud providers run automated backups helping prevent data loss.

Disaster recovery – Cloud storage provides redundancy across geographic regions making data resilient to localized failures.
Cost – Pay only for what you use following an OpEx (operational expenditure) model rather than CapEx (capital expenditure).

Cons:

Security risks – Storing data offsite brings security concerns around cloud provider access, multi-tenancy, and remote data transmission.

Technical difficulties – Issues like latency, downtime, and sync errors can arise when working with cloud services.
Vendor lock-in – Migrating large volumes of cloud data to a new provider is challenging and costly.
Connection dependence – App and data access requires an internet connection meaning usage is limited in areas with poor connectivity.

Cost over time – Operational costs like monthly fees and data egress charges add up for large volumes over time.

Public cloud services like Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service), Microsoft Azure Storage, and Google Cloud Storage are ideal for scalable, resilient data storage accessible from anywhere. However, tight vendor controls and reliance on internet connectivity are downsides to factor in.

Hybrid Storage

Hybrid storage combines local storage hardware with cloud-based storage for a solution balancing the benefits and mitigating the disadvantages of both approaches. With hybrid storage, actively used current data resides on high-speed local storage while colder archival data gets tiered to the expansive low-cost capacity of cloud storage. Here are the benefits of adopting a hybrid approach:

Pros:

Performance – Hot data on local storage ensures fast I/O performance for active workloads.
Cost-effectiveness – Infrequently accessed cold data shifts to affordable cloud storage.
Scalability – Cloud capacity can flexibly expand as storage needs grow.

Control – Local hardware ownership avoids dependence on a single cloud vendor.
Security – Keep sensitive data under tight control onsite.
Resiliency – Geographic distribution of data across on-prem and cloud resources limits data loss risks.

Cons:

Complexity – Managing and coordinating storage across disparate local and cloud media adds complexity.
Data movement – Shuttling data between onsite and cloud locations generates data transfer fees and latency.
Platform dependence – Interoperability issues can arise between storage platforms.

Hybrid cloud storage combines the best of local and cloud options for many organizations. Small businesses can leverage simple hybrid solutions like using local network attached storage (NAS) devices along with a cloud storage service for backups and archiving.

Comparing the 3 Data Storage Models

Deciding which approach is best suited to your storage needs depends on a range of factors from data security and accessibility to scalability and cost. Here is a comparison of some key considerations:

Factor	Local Storage	Cloud Storage	Hybrid Storage
Ownership	Full ownership and control	No ownership, controlled by cloud provider	Mix of owned local devices and cloud services
Location	Data resides onsite	Data resides in cloud provider’s remote servers	Active data local, archival data in cloud
Accessibility	Accessible onsite only	Access from anywhere with internet connection	Local data readily accessible, remote data accessible with connection
Scalability	Limited, requires expanding local hardware	Highly scalable	Scales via cloud capacity
Security	Tight control over physical security	Dependent on cloud provider policies	Sensitive data kept local, cloud provider secured
Reliability	Hardware failures disrupt access	High availability from distributed redundant systems	Data distribution mitigates disruption
Cost	High CapEx costs, lower OpEx	No CapEx, usage-based OpEx costs	Moderate CapEx plus cloud OpEx costs
Performance	Fast performance	Variable based on connection and congestion	Local speed for hot data, cloud tradeoffs for cold data

Weighing these factors specific to your use case guides the selection between onsite, cloud, or hybrid architectures. Next we will dive deeper into examples of implementing each approach.

Setting Up Local Storage Infrastructure

For organizations with onsite infrastructure and IT staff, building out local storage solutions offers access to high-capacity, high-performance data storage under their control. Popular options include:

Direct Attached Storage (DAS)

DAS refers to storage media directly attached to a computer like an internal hard drive or external USB drive. This offers a simple way to add storage capacity to standalone machines. However, data stored this way is isolated and hard to share between multiple systems.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

NAS devices are dedicated file-level storage servers connected to a local area network. This allows data to be shared by authorized users across networked machines. NAS scales through adding additional NAS servers with storage pools that can be managed centrally. Vendors like Synology, QNAP, and Buffalo offer NAS devices tailored for small and mid-size businesses.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

In a SAN, storage devices are connected to dedicated high-speed networks separate from LANs. Servers access block-level SAN storage over the network. By separating storage traffic from other data networking, SANs enable very high performance and scalability. However, they have greater complexity and cost than NAS systems.

Software-Defined Storage (SDS)

SDS abstracts storage hardware resources into software-based storage services. This allows storage capacity to be provisioned from a centralized software platform across standard commercial off-the-shelf servers. SDS can be deployed on premises and managed similarly to cloud storage while avoiding dependence on proprietary storage arrays. VMware vSAN and Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct are examples of SDS solutions.

Choosing a Cloud Storage Provider

The three dominant public cloud providers – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – all offer expansive storage capabilities. Key factors to weigh when selecting a platform include:

Pricing – Calculate expected monthly costs based on your storage volume and data access patterns. Watch for hidden costs like data egress fees.
Storage types – Block, file, and object storage options are available to suit different data types and access methods.
Data transfer costs – Moving data between regions or out to the internet incurs per-GB charges.

Data redundancy – Multiple automatic redundancy options prevent data loss.
Security – Encryption, access controls, and logging protect stored data.
Compliance – Options like HIPAA compatibility are critical for regulated industries.

Backup & recovery – Robust tools streamline error recovery and restore from backup.
Global footprint – More regions provide geographic redundancy and low latency access.

For the highest service levels, opt for a top-tier provider like AWS. If budget it tighter, Azure and GCP are solid choices while providers like Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and DigitalOcean offer lower cost cloud storage.

Example AWS Storage Options

As the leading cloud platform, AWS provides storage products tailored to diverse needs:

S3 – Durable object storage for any volume of data.
Glacier – Ultra-low-cost archive storage for seldom accessed data.

EBS – Block storage volumes for attaching to EC2 instances.
EFS – Network file system for EC2 access across AZs.
Storage Gateway – Hybrid storage integrations between on-prem and AWS.

With intelligent data lifecycle management policies, data can be transitioned between these tiers based on access patterns. This allows you to optimize performance and cost across hot, warm, and cold data.

Designing a Hybrid Storage Architecture

Enterprise IT teams taking a hybrid approach require thorough integration between on-premises systems and the cloud provider’s storage environment. A well-planned architecture balances responsibilities between the local and cloud platforms.

Local Responsibilities

The onsite infrastructure with local storage handles:

Performance-critical workloads reading and writing hot active data.
Low-latency access to frequently used working datasets.
Local backups and data protection for operational recovery.

Caching copies of data stored in the cloud.
Securing sensitive data under regulatory controls.

Cloud Responsibilities

The cloud side of the hybrid system takes on:

Scalable capacity for storing cold, archival data.
Geographic redundancy and availability across regions.
Backing up on-premises data sets for disaster recovery.

Providing a destination for aged data no longer in active use.
Serving as a centralized data lake for analysis.

Connecting Local and Cloud Environments

Key enablers for smooth hybrid data flows:

High bandwidth network – Ensure ample connectivity between local systems and cloud endpoints.
Local cache – Keep working datasets locally while archiving the source to the cloud.
Cloud gateway appliance – An on-premises device seamlessly connects storage environments.

Data synchronization – Tools push updates between systems while accounting for data gravity.
Unified management – Admins utilize a centralized interface to monitor and manage across storage locations.

With policies dictating data placement and movement across the hybrid landscape, organizations can reap the individual advantages of local and cloud storage.

Conclusion

Local, cloud, and hybrid storage solutions each have their place. On-premises storage grants full hardware control for maximum performance with sensitive data. Cloud storage offers anytime access, scalability and geographic resilience. Hybrid provides the best of both worlds for many enterprises leveraging agile data placement. Thinking through requirements around access needs, security, growth, and cost help determine the ideal approach to storing your organization’s precious data.