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Cloud Storage: Use Cases that Make Sense
Cloud storage is the storage of data on virtual servers rather than on dedicated servers. Advantages of cloud storage is that the use of storage is simplified — storage across many physical servers can be exposed as a single virtual storage resource that can easily grow to accommodate increasing demand. Storage capacity on the physical servers is also more effectively utilized with virtualization.
Andrew Reichman, a Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, points out that some applications like those where a database uses cloud storage are just not practical yet with today’s networking speeds. He also bring up the issue of data security as an issue that needs to be carefully considered before embarking on the use of cloud storage.
Reichman has outlined three use cases where cloud storage makes sense today.
1. SaaS Applications. By using SaaS, both the application server and the storage for the application are located remotely. Storage backup, data integrity, and application maintenance responsibilities have been shifted from internal IT to the external vendor. Generally, running the application is a core capability of the SaaS provider, and very often, the provider has greater IT resources and expertise to help.
2. Data Backup. The storage costs involved in backing up data to the cloud are typically significantly less because the cloud vendor is able to leverage the cost savings possible from a large volume operation. Data can also be encrypted prior to or as part of the backup process so that data security breaches are less of an issue with just a backup.
3. File Storage. The use of the cloud for storing files, especially for archived files or those with low frequency access, can be cost effective. Latency involved with times for upload and download of files can become an issue with files that are accessed frequently.
