The amount of data humans create, store, upload, and share is truly massive. An old concept, first proposed by scholars at UC Berkley, stated that if all human speech had been stored as text, meaning if every word ever spoken had been written down and stored as a text document, it would take up 5 exabytes of data. In 2017, humans created 2.5 quintillion bytes of information every day, or that same amount of data in just two days.

Most of this data is created, uploaded, and shared and never thought of again. Kept in the cloud storage of various companies, to be accessed at will. But how secure are these forms of storage? When uploading precious files, whether that be vital business data or simply just scans of an old family album, what guarantees does one have that they will be safe for all of time? In reality, cloud storage is not any safer than storing these files on a computer without a backup. If these files are corrupted, accidentally deleted, or lost they are gone. Google, Amazon, and other clients have no backups of files stored on their cloud services, nor are they obligated to.

Most cloud users, under the assumption that cloud stored data is safely backed up and secure, do not have multiple copies of these files for instant restoration. This means that most users have thousands of files and cloud systems unprotected, and this vulnerability can hurt a business if disaster strikes. And the reason behind all of this is that number mentioned at the beginning, 2.5 quintillion bytes. Google, Amazon, and all other companies looking to store data on the cloud can’t possibly keep up with storing, backing up, and cataloguing all of that information - leaving it to the consumer.

Luckily for consumers, there are solutions. One of which is a redundant system, using physical hard drives, servers, and cloud systems in tandem to duplicate all files. This system is a solid solution, although it is hard to optimize, and requires plenty of physical hours of offloading, duplicating, and uploading content.

Another solution is to automate your storage backup with a SaaS or Software as a Service system through an IT Security company like Acumen IT. These solutions are implemented each time a backup to a cloud system is made, duplicating it off site. This essentially double ups on cloud storage systems, creating an off-site backup. This has many advantages, but there are a few particular benefits that are worth noting

·       This off-site storage helps guarantee files in the event of a natural disaster, similar to cloud backups. These files are usually much quicker to initiate though, and can also contain your subsystems and be launched automatically in the case of an emergency.

·       If managed through an IT Security company, these files will have a 24/hr expert to help bring systems back online.

·       In the case of cloud system corruption or inaccessibility, businesses are not crippled without their files. All files are quickly accessible through their SaaS systems.

SaaS solutions help mitigate risk in the long run, allowing businesses to worry less about their data, and focus on their immediate business needs. Although most businesses do not currently have a SaaS system in place with a major IT security provider, the system is scaling with the growth in cloud computing and storage – one of the most rapidly growing businesses in the tech sector. As every business is becoming dependent on cloud based systems, their attention to security should grow as well. Keeping files secure, in every situation, is a must in today’s environment. If the big names in cloud services won’t protect you, who will?