Physical Storage vs Cloud Storage

Gone are the days where physical storage was our only option for storing our data. No longer do we have to heft around disks and flash drives – now all we need to do is upload our files into the cloud, save them to our own storage, and then you can access it wherever you are. However, there are still some benefits to physical storage that some people aren’t quite willing to let go of just yet, so we thought that today, we’d take a look at the benefits of physical storage, the benefits of cloud storage, and compare them.

Physical Storage vs Cloud Storage

Physical Storage: The Benefits

• it’s something substantial you can keep with you
• you have the confidence of knowing that your hardware isn’t likely to fail
• you can physically hand over your storage device when sharing files and information with friends and family
• you don’t need an Internet connection to access your files

Cloud Storage: The Benefits

• generally, cloud storage is incredibly secure, more so than physical storage is
• most cloud storage services back up their servers to ensure that, in the unlikely event of an error with their primary servers, all your information is backed up so you won’t have to worry about losing it
• the speed and convenience of data back up is unparalleled with cloud storage as opposed to physical storage
• sharing your data, files and media with friends and family is simple as sending them a link, or giving them your log in details.
• you can share data around the world with the click of a button
• you can access your data from any device with an internet connection in mere seconds
• collaborative projects are made incredibly easy, with people being able to work on a single file simultaneously.

As you can see, both physical and cloud storage have their benefits, but in this day and age where near enough everything is digital, physical storage just can no longer compete. For some, the tangible security of a physical storage device outweighs the actual security that cloud storage can offer, and that’s absolutely fine – cloud storage won’t be for everyone.

Of course, we always recommend having multiple backups of incredibly important data, just to be on the safe side, and at least one of these back ups would ideally be in physical storage. This can just be your computer’s hard drive, an external hard drive or even a USB flash drive – whatever works for you.

Offcloud, your cloud-based download manager

If you’ve made the decision to go with cloud based storage for the majority of your storage requirements, then Offcloud is a solid choice. We give you 10GB of free cloud storage to begin with, to let you sample our services and make sure everything is to your liking. If you like us, and think you could be in it for the long-haul, then we have a number of subscription plans available to help you get the most from your cloud storage – including the ability to download directly from BitTorrent into your Offcloud account, and integrate with your other cloud storage services.