Cloud Storage, Flash Drives, and Everything In Between

What exactly is data? How do I keep it safe??

Well, data can describe any type of digital artifact. Everything from phone numbers, to pictures, videos, music and even that essay that you typed up on your computer...these are all examples of data, but there are many more types of data that exist in our world today. Pretty much everything that is important in the digital world consists of data.

Our society is creating data at an unprecedented rate. This should not come as a surprise. With better cameras on phones, we can take tons of pictures everyday with extraordinary quality. With better computers and programs, we can create impressive documents and presentations. These higher resolution images and fancy features come at a cost; they require more data. And don't forget about messaging applications. Messages are data too! All of these pieces of data seem to take up no room at all in our physical world, but it does. In fact, there are companies that have entire warehouses filled with data! So where do we put all of those childhood memories and school/work assignments? Well, there is no easy answer. Data storage has gotten very sophisticated so there are many ways to store and access your data. We'll talk about a few options and discuss the pros and cons of each, but in the end, it's really up to you based on your personal preferences!

What are the different types of data storage?

There are many different mediums of data storage, so we will just go over a few. We will discuss internal storage, flash drives, external HDD (hard drive disks)/SSD (solid state drive), and cloud storage:

*Note: I use the word "drive" a lot to describe the physical box that data can be stored on. This is common. There are many types of drives.

Internal Storage

Most people use internal storage on their devices. Internal storage is basically the easiest way to store files. This means that you are saving your data to the specific device that you are using. So if you take a picture on your phone and you are using internal storage, then the picture is being stored on the phone itself. Therefore, if you lose the device or it stops working, then you will lose the data stored on it. But, if your device is being backed up to some other location (iCloud backup is an example), then if the phone breaks, the data is backed up somewhere else. However, the original files are still mainly stored on your device. Internal storage can use many different technologies, some better than others. Some involve more traditional hard drive storage and others contain more resilient solid state storage. To learn more about this topic, check out the "General Purpose Storage" section of my blog post on the Basic Parts of a Computer. It is not unusual to see internal storage anywhere from 16 GB to 1 TB and even more.

Flash Drives

You have probably used or at least seen a flash drive before. They are little sticks that plug into the USB (universal serial bus) ports on your computer. They expand the local storage on your device using flash storage. This is why they are called flash drives. Flash storage is very resilient to bumps and falls because there are no physical moving parts. Other storage types can use flash storage, but flash drives are named after this technology because they always use it. They make it very convenient to move data from one computer to another and they can be used to back up certain files, as well as reinstall your operating system if it becomes corrupted (more on this in a different post). Flash drives are a type of local storage and are generally not attached to the internet. They usually come in sizes between 2 GB to 128 GB, but it is possible to find ones with even more capacity.

Google Images - Flash Drive

External HDD/SSD

This type of data storage is like a flash drive, but usually has much higher capacity. These external drives are in the range of 128 GB to 2 TB, but can be higher or lower. They are called external drives because they plug into the USB ports on your computer as opposed to the internal drives which are plugged into your computer internally (see the local storage section above). These drives usually look like a box about the size of cell phone and usually have a wire connected to the box that is the USB cable. They can use a hard drive or a solid state drive. They are another form of local storage because they usually do not connect to the internet.

Google Images - External Hard Drive

SD Card

SD cards are flat and tend to also use flash storage so they are fairly resilient. This type of data storage is popular with photographers because SD cards plug directly into cameras and are easy to remove and plug into computers to do photo editing. SD card slots are not as common as USB slots in computers, so I prefer flash drives over SD cards for most use cases, but as mentioned before, they are handy when taking lots of pictures and/or when you need an ultra small storage medium.

Google Images - SD Card

Cloud Storage

This is probably the section you have been waiting for. What is cloud storage? What is this magical technology that allows me to store data somewhere in the clouds and retrieve it from anywhere??? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but cloud storage isn't really all that special. It can seem strange or complicated, but it really isn't, and with the knowledge you now have about local storage, you have the means to grasp the concept of cloud storage!

Cloud storage starts with an external drive, similar to the ones we discussed above. The key is that this external drive is connected to a computer that is running special software that allows the external drive to be seen from anywhere over the internet! Cool, huh? When big companies offer cloud storage, they are actually allowing you to access these drives that are located in huge data warehouses. These are physical warehouses that contain hundreds or even thousands of drives and computers that allocate space to users on the network. Some advanced technology people can even set up their own personal cloud in their own homes. A cloud is basically just an external drive connected to the internet! Companies charge for the convenience of being able to use their computers (servers) and external drives to store your data. They add cool abilities like being able to access the data from anywhere and make it user friendly so that it feels easy and seamless. Some even add the ability to share and collaborate! Google Drive does this with their Google Docs, Microsoft does this with Microsoft Word, and iCloud does this with Apple Pages.

Some of the most popular cloud storage providers are: Google Drive (files, photos, etc.) Apple iCloud (files, photos, messages, notes, etc.), Microsoft OneDrive (files, photos, notes, etc.), and Dropbox (files, pictures, etc.). Cloud storage providers usually have the ability to perform backups of important files and/or sync your data with local storage to make files available when you are offline as well. Also, cloud storage providers usually have copies of your data readily available, so that if something happens at their warehouse, you won't lose your data! Pretty neat!

Google Images - Cloud Storage Warehouse

How can I compare these different storage options?

We'll go through some of the pros and cons of the different storage types:

Internal Storage

Pros:

• Does not require an internet connection so you will still have your data if you are in a dead zone or somewhere with very bad internet
• Fast because internal storage doesn't rely on having a good internet connection to get your data
• Generally cheaper because there isn't as much involved in setting it up and it usually comes bundled with your computer or device
• Secure because the data is usually inaccessible to malicious users over the internet (this is not always the case since devices can sometimes allow external programs to access local storage data)

Cons:

• Not backed up by default in case of failure or loss
• Not accessible over the internet. This can be inconvenient if you want to view files from other devices
• Not synced with other devices
• Takes up physical space since internal storage is in your physical device
• Hard to replace since it is preinstalled in your device and often cannot be removed
• Higher quality storage can cost more if it is preinstalled in smaller or thinner devices since smaller computer components generally cost more

Flash Drive

Pros:

• Does not require an internet connect
• Fast, but usually not as fast as local storage because it relies on USB limitations
• Secure because it is not attached to the internet
• Portable and easy to move data from one device to another

Cons:

• Not backed up by default in case of failure or loss
• Not accessible over the internet
• Not synced with other devices
• Takes up physical space
• Expensive
• Usually comes in smaller capacities

External HDD/SSD

Pros:

• Does not require an internet connect
• Can be fast (depends on which type of drive you get), but usually not as fast as local storage because it relies on USB limitations
• Secure because it is not attached to the internet
• Portable and easy to move data from one device to another, but not as portable as a flash drive
• Can be fairly inexpensive depending on the type of drive you get

Cons:

• Not backed up by default in case of failure or loss
• Not accessible over the internet
• Not synced with other devices
• Takes up physical space

Cloud Storage

Pros:

• Backed up by default. Not stored only on your device. Also cloud providers generally manage backups so that your data is safe even if something happens to their computers or if drives fail
• Accessible everywhere. This can be very convenient because you can view and edit files from virtually anywhere that has an internet connection. This means it is easy to move files from device to device and if you forget your device, you probably have a device with you that can access all of your files
• Cloud providers usually provide options for automatic syncing with your devices which makes it easy to do offline work and have your files sync with the cloud when you regain internet connection and go back online
• Cloud storage has been getting cheaper, and sometimes it is even bundled with other products or services or given away for free (Google Photos is free with certain Android phones, Google type documents - docs, sheets, slides, etc. don't count towards your storage usage on Goolge Drive, 1 TB of Microsoft OneDrive space is bundled with Office 365, 5 GB of iCloud storage is free with each Apple ID/iCloud account)
• Doesn't take up physical space around the house. Just pay more and you get more

Cons:

• Requires an internet connection to sync up, but usually there are sophisticated syncing options to allow for offline viewing and editing, so this isn't really a negative
• Can be slow to download files. Download speeds mostly rely on your internet connection, but can also depend on the cloud provider
• Technically cloud storage is more susceptible to hacking because the data is accessible via the internet and the hacker doesn't need your physical device. However, major cloud storage providers have very advanced and sophisticated protection against these attacks (it's not everyday that a company like Apple, Microsoft, or Google gets hacked...)
• Cloud storage usually implements a subscription model, so it can feel expensive and you may very well be paying for space monthly for the rest of your life, compared to a flash drive that you buy once. However, if you actually look at the total cost of ownership over that time and include all the factors (such as buying more flash drives when you run out of space, and replacing high storage devices when they go bad - they do actually degrade over time!), cloud storage prices are actually extremely reasonable and you'll probably end up saving time and money by using cloud storage in the long run, especially if you are getting it bundled with other products and services (see the pros section)

So many options! What should I use???

Although I have my preferences when it comes to data storage, it really comes down to personal preference and choosing the right storage for the right reasons. I have tried to be as unbiased as possible in this post, but I want to be transparent. I use cloud storage for a majority of my data storage needs. It's cheap, convenient, it synchronizes my data between my many devices, and if something happens to one of my computers (i.e. it gets stolen or gets infected with a virus) and I need to reset it, I don't have to worry about backing up all of my pictures and documents. I keep many of my documents on cloud storage and I sync many of these files to my computers and phone so that I'm always up to date, but I have various backups of important files on flash drives that may never see the light of day.

That being said, there is a time and a place for local, offline storage mediums. Cloud storage is very secure, but obviously something that never touches the internet is a little safer. For instance, many companies with sensitive data (maybe patient data in a healthcare company or secret documents) may choose to use storage that is isolated from the internet because it limits risk. If you have sensitive documents that you don't want anyone to ever lay eyes on, then it might be a good idea to buy a nice external drive or a big flash drive and use that instead of cloud storage. It all has to do with trade-offs. Another good use of external drives is archiving. If you have a lot of old documents or pictures, you may choose to put these on large, cheap external drives. MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS BACK UP ALL OF YOUR LOCAL DATA. ALL DRIVES FAIL EVENTUALLY!!!

So it really comes down to what you prefer and what inconveniences you're willing to deal with. If you're okay with hauling around back up drives and having all of your data scattered about, then maybe that's worth it for you so that you can have a marginal increase in security...but for the vast majority of people, the cloud is a blessing, and after getting used to it, it's extremely difficult to give up all the convenience and go back.

Full Disclosure: As always, I offer my technical knowledge and advice as a way of giving back, so it is always free for my readers. However, from time to time I may include referral codes to some of the products that I talk about in my posts. Feel free to use them or feel free to ignore them. I don't get paid when someone clicks on them, but using my links can occasionally reward me with extra storage space or other bonuses. :)

Microsoft OneDrive

Google Drive

Apple iCloud

Dropbox

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or leave a comment! Thanks for reading!