Internet Storage Pros & Cons
As "cloud computing" becomes an increasingly popular term, many people and businesses are looking to store their files online instead of on in-house servers. For home users, Internet-based storage means data can be accessed anywhere, which is also a convenient thought. Like most technology decisions, there are pros and cons to moving your files onto the cloud.
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Online Only
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The main limitation with storing documents online is that they are online. This is great, unless you're not constantly online. If you are frequently away from free Wi-Fi hotspots and Internet connectivity in general, Internet storage might not work for you. Another problem with storing data online is that when the Internet goes down, so does access to your documents.
Easy to Maintain
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On the other hand, online storage of documents and software is easy to maintain across large companies: everyone is simply given a user name and password to access the online storage. Internet-based storage is typically browser-based, making it easy for people to use at home as well as in the office. For personal use, access to your files is easy on almost any computer.
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Crashes Happen
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If the server storing everyone's information goes down, so does everyone's ability to use the files. This can be disastrous in the context of a business and really annoying for personal data, so make sure the Internet-based storage is reliable before depending on it too much. Backing up your data to a local hard drive from time to time won't hurt either.
Cross-Platform
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Internet-based storage is accessible regardless of the user's operating system. This is particularly useful if a programmer on a project uses Linux, the accountant uses Windows and the advertising copywriter uses a Mac. With Internet-based storage, everyone can access the files using their operating system of choice.
Control
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Control can be a pro and a con in this instance. On the one hand, Internet-based storage is good because the files can be easily controlled centrally by managers. On the other hand, if your Internet-based storage is run by a company other than your own, control can be dependent on that company, and making changes to the service can be cumbersome.
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