Cloud Storage Vs External Hard Drive

I am doomed to say, one of the biggest confusions in the tech industry is between cloud and hard drive storage. Which storage solution is better? The Cloud or a External HDD.

In this article, we will be talking about the differences between a cloud and physical storage. We will try to cover most of the points, which will help you to choose the best storage for you.

Why do we need a storage solution?

The major reason for the need of a storage solution is because we want to keep backup.

We have to keep a backup of our files such as important pictures and documents and the study material (wait what? study material requires VPN right? then why am I telling cloud storage…. ok leave it) and many other files. For this purpose, storage equipment comes into the picture. We cannot afford to lose our important data. So we try to create multiple backups so that if it gets corrupt at one place then we can easily access it from another place.

Which is more convenient?

Ease in transfer

Now, the frequency of backing up our data depends on the ease of the process of backing up. In the case of traditional hard drives, we need to connect them to our PC to take the backup directly. But if we want to take a backup from our mobile device, then we first have to transfer data from the phone to our PC and then to the hard drive

In contrast, Cloud storages are much easier to use. We can sign in to the cloud account from any device and upload data to the cloud server. You can access this stored data from any part of the world and any device of your choice.

Internet dependency

The previous point in cloud storage may be a nightmare for some of the users. As cloud storages heavily depend on your internet speeds, many users cannot use this service to the fullest. People who have slower internet speeds are not able to access their files from the cloud server. This can increase the cost of using a cloud storage service

But in a traditional hard drive, there is no need for the internet to transfer data. You can easily share the data from the drive to your PC by connecting it with a cable.

Universality

Both of the storages are very much universal. You can easily connect a Hard disc to your phone, PC, TV. The cloud services also have different apps for various platforms.

Moreover, cloud service companies provide you with free initial storage for you to check the download speeds from their servers. You can take free trails and choose the best cloud service which provides you with better speeds.

Data Sharing

Another benefit that comes under cloud storage is that you can create a family account. In this family account, you can share the data among your family members through your cloud service. You don’t need to share your physical hard drive with any of your family members. Though you can do some jugaad and create a small cloud at your home using your wifi router but that is an exception.

Security

Lets talk about security. Which storage solution is safer to store our personal files?

The answer is – Hard Drives. Hard Drives are much safer than cloud storage when they aren’t connected to the PC. As soon as you connect the hard drive to your PC then they become vulnerable to malicious attacks. Trojans and malware can corrupt data in your hard drive.

The advantage of cloud storage is that no virus and malware can corrupt your files. Cloud companies provide levels of encryption that make your files very safe. But many a time data breaches happen in cloud services. Though you can depend on the Cloud services of major companies.

Data corruption

Another point that falls is that of data corruption. A Hard drive is a piece of electronic machinery, it will fail over time. With time, chances will increase that the data stored in your hard drives will get corrupted and you will not be able to recover them because of a single backup.

But in case of cloud storages, companies store your files at different servers and at different locations. So if one of their server goes corrupt then they can easily provide all your files from the other server. This is a really big advantage for cloud services. You can easily depend on cloud services for your data without any worries.

Features

Cloud companies provide a lot of features as compared to personal hard drives. In both of the storage solutions, you can easily sync your data to the drive or the server in either of the cases. for syncing, cloud services require an internet connection and hard drives require a cable to be connected.

In cloud storages, sync is compatible with all the device but in a hard drive, it becomes very difficult to sync from any device except of a PC . It becomes very non user friendly while syncing data from a mobile phone to a hard drive.

Cloud storage also provide dynamic data sharing which is very useful in offices. If 2 or more people are working on a same file then it becomes very easy for them because of cloud sharing of the document simultaneuosly.

Cloud Storages also have audio and video players inbuilt, which can play your multimedia without downloading the actual file on your device.

Many brands also provide offline access in cloud storage. In this, you have to inform the company that you need a certain file or a folder for a certain period of time when there will be no connectivity. You will be able to access these files and folders even if you are offline for a certain period of time

After reading the above paragraph you must be feeling like–

In the case of a hard drive, you need to carry the physical drive where ever you are going which makes the task a bit tougher.

Costs of Cloud Storage

So finally lets talk about the main topic COST.

1TB Hard drive from renowned brands cost around Rs3500-Rs4500 with 3 years warranty. This means that for 3 years, the company will support you. But after 3 years they don’t have any responsibility for the hard drive.

Cloud storage costs around Rs6500 2TB for 1 year (Google one service) which is kinda expensive. But you also get other amazing features bundled with cloud storage. In the end, if companies try to give us a lifetime fee, which is a one-time payment then cloud service would be really the best storage service. One company that offers lifetime plans is IceDrive which gives you 1TB space for 150$ for a lifetime. Another company that gives this lifetime service is peacloud which gives 2TB space for 350$ for a lifetime.

An Indian company called digiboxx also provides cloud storage solutions at really cheap rates. It is cheaper than most of the major players in the market and worth considering. They take only 120Rs per month for storage (1TB) but it also has many bugs. You can only upload 5 files at a time which is very annoying at first.

Cloud Storages are the future and developments are going on to make this service cheap.

Do comment and tell us which service will you prefer?

So that’s all we have in store to share with you, Thanks for spending your valuable time reading this article

Meet you in next article , till then Stay Safe! Stay Sarcastic!