The ability to store all the files that your business needs is one of the most critical elements of your IT solution. Therefore, making sure through your managed service provider that you have enough storage is going to be essential to a smooth-running business, so let’s talk about a few key points surrounding the topic:
– How much is too much?
The answer to this question is that you can’t really have “too much” storage, but more storage is going to mean more cost. If you consider carefully what you are going to actually be storing, it’s going to help you come up with a plan. For example, a business that is only storing documents will need less storage than a video editing organisation. Having an idea of your needs will help you discuss them better with your IT helpdesk.
– To cloud or not to cloud?
The cloud is a vastly powerful solution that can be set up to allow access to files from anywhere, provided you are logged in. For example, Microsoft has the Sharepoint and OneDrive products; both also at the pinnacle of IT security. But equally, the costs associated may not outweigh the benefits provided if your business is primarily local, and you have a strong set of backup solutions set up by your managed provider. It’s another factor to discuss with your IT support service.
– Maintaining the system
The key point to remember in regards to storage
is that not everything you store is going to be relevant forever, and doing
frequent cleanups will help to optimise performance and computer speed overall.
Like your storage closet at home, going in for some spring cleaning from time
to time will reap benefits. For example, if you have a folder full of documents
from 10+ years ago, consider how relevant they are to today’s processes. There
is also a lot of general ‘clutter’ created by computers on a day to day basis,
such as temporary files. Your managed IT solution, such as Rapid IT, can assist
in installing software to assist with that part of the process.
There are a lot of factors to consider when looking at storage in an IT
context, from amount, to format, to maintenance. So, discussing the matter with
your IT support service will be essential. As always, Rapid IT is ready to
listen, so that your organisation’s unique needs can be met effectively. Give
us a call today!
