External Hard Drives

The storage devices and data back-up product segment has seen a transformation of sorts in the last decade or so. Owing to the emergence of cloud-based storage platforms, the popularity of external storage devices has taken a major hit.

Data – the new currency?

Storage devices form an important part of the PC as well as our device cabinet. These storage devices help us store loads of data and secure ourselves from any loss resulting due to sudden data loss. After all, data is the new currency of the online world. Data holds immense importance for businesses, and they go to great lengths to safeguard it. Most businesses treasure their data and end up investing millions of dollars in security systems that ensure their safety. 

The emergence of cloud-based storage platforms

The cloud-based storage platforms are the new rage among users. These platforms offer the convenience of access from any device and also score highly on the portability front. They also offer superior resource sharing opportunities and enable resource sharing with a wider set of users at once. Moreover, they also offer the convenience of virus-free files, which is not the case with external storage devices like the external hard drives. However, these platforms also have a downside to them. The major one being security. Off late, the safety and security offered by these platforms have been a point of contention among users.

The issue with cloud-based platforms

The enhanced access offered by these platforms comes with the added risk of data theft. There have been several incidents of data theft in the recent past, and all these incidents lead us to one question. How safe are these cloud-based storage platforms? Are we as users making a trade-off between safety and convenience by opting to use these platforms? Is it fair to put users’ data at so much risk for the sake of convenience? Well, there are no specific answers to these questions. However, using external hard drives in combination with these platforms and trying to find a fine balance between the two can be a possible solution to such a problem.

Best of both devices 

The external hard drives can be used to create additional back-ups for highly sensitive data, while the cloud-based platforms can be used to store the less critical files. Also, the external hard drives can be used more as data recovery devices, while the cloud-based platforms can be used as resource-sharing tools. The external storage devices offer higher reliability and, therefore, can provide better protection to user data.

FAQs

Do these external hard drives come with a fixed storage capacity?

No, the external hard drives come with varying storage capacity. They are generally offered in storage capacities ranging from 500 MB to 3 TB.

What if the external hard drives get infected with a virus?

If the external hard drives are used for resource sharing and data transfer on a large number of devices, then there are chances that they may be infected with a virus. However, the users need not worry as the viruses can be easily removed using any anti-virus software available in the marketplace.

Are there any maintenance costs associated with these devices?

These devices are built to last and come with a rugged body. There are minimal or no maintenance costs associated with using these devices.