Cloud Storage + Fast Network = Less Local Storage
What are the three most important specs people focus on when purchasing a new computer?
- Processor — how fast can it think?
- Memory — how much can it think about at one time?
- Storage — how much can it remember?
Let’s take a more in-depth look at these factors. Cloud storage has not yet had too much impact on 1 and 2. There is still plenty of local “thinking” even though the heavy Business Intelligence workloads have shifted to cloud storage. You still need to run applications locally, which requires processing and memory capacity. Your mobile device now has the processing and memory capacity that rivals computers of the past.
#3 (storage) is a different story though. The speed of the network means that we do not have to store all our music, pictures, and documents on our local machine. Why? Because the data can all sit happily in cloud storage, waiting for you to access it, and when you do, the network is fast enough to stream or download the items without your knowledge! Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, anyone? Get a good network connection, and you have access to millions of songs, videos, and more!
A lot of data today is created in the cloud, so it never even hits your computer’s local storage. Think about creating documents saved directly to SharePoint or pictures from your mobile device that are saved directly to a cloud storage service. As more and more data is “cloud-created,” the need for local storage goes down, which is good for users.
Smaller local storage capacities mean less cost and typically faster access times due to the widespread adoption of SSD (Solid State) hard drives. These drives consume less power and do not (typically!) experience the hard drive crashes we all have come to know and love!
So, the next time you purchase a new electronic device, think about the ACTUAL amount of local storage you will utilize and not just what you think you need. Remember, the trend is to get everything in the cloud, and with a fast network, you will need less local storage. It’s interesting to note that the Apple iPhone 6 did not come in a 32GB version, only 16GB or 64GB….pretty smart on their part as 32GB was “just right” but 16GB not enough. Maybe Tim Cook read Goldilocks, right before they went to market?
Written by: Edward Stringfellow
