Oct 21, 2024

How to Choose the Best Way To Store Data Permanently

What is the right choice for secure and cost-effective permanent data storage? This is one of the most important decisions you can make for your company. There are many approaches to data storage that may suffice. But sufficing does not mean that your data is safe. Data loss is a problem that affects companies of all sizes. Large corporations with sophisticated cybersecurity and infrastructure fall victim to data loss. Even NASA has trouble securing its data. Small businesses are no less simple. In 2020 alone, almost 40% of small businesses reported losing crucial data.

Why You Need Reliable Storage Methods

The impact of data loss can be complex. The risks you need to be aware of include:

Direct financial loss
Productivity disruption
Loss of loyal customers
Reputational damage
Legal expenses

No data breach is the same. What is certain is that negative consequences will arise, including some mix of the above.

Reliable and long-term data solutions offset these risks. The “permanent” aspect is especially important for:

Trade secrets
Personal data of customers and employees
Other crucial data

Now, let’s go over how to choose the best data storage option.

Top Methods for Permanent Data Storage

Storing data permanently involves using storage mechanisms that ensure data is retained even after the system is powered off or restarted. The best way to store information permanently depends on the context, data type, and requirements. Below are some common methods:

SSD Technology

SSDs (Solid State Drives) are robust, fast, and energy efficient. The drawback is that they cost more (per GB) than physical storage devices. Just remember to not forgo important security practices. Big companies like Samsung offer large SSDs for business use.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage solutions use remote servers that are accessible online. Cloud storage solutions are often used alongside other solutions as a backup. This combination helps prevent data loss. Cloud storage is convenient, scalable, and intuitive. You get access to your data from everywhere and automatic backups, however isn’t always as secure as the alternatives. It requires diligence to ensure data security. You also don’t own your cloud storage space. Instead of one purchase, you make monthly or annual subscription payments.

Popular Cloud storage options used by many businesses include Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, IBM Cloud, and Azure.

Digital Optical Drives

Digital optical drives are disks built for storing data. These drives are provided by many companies and come in many forms. To make the most of them, remember to still encrypt the data and ensure the disks are secure. DODs are ubiquitous and are often stable and robust. They are also quite inexpensive. However, DODs are vulnerable to physical damage and degradation over time. They need more careful treatment than SSDs and are also not as fast.

Hybrid Storage

Hybrid storage combines different types of storage. The goal is to leverage the benefits of each. This requires more complexity to put in place. But that complexity pays off with balanced performance and cost savings. For example, using SSD storage but cloud solutions for backup would be one example. Companies offering cloud storage like Amazon also provide hybrid infrastructure. Hybrid storage is also adaptable. You can strive for a balance between optimal performance and cost-effectiveness. It’s just harder to set up.

The Best Way to Store Data Long term

When considering long-term data storage, the goal is to ensure that the data remains secure, accessible, and intact over time, possibly for years or even decades. Several factors, including data type, access frequency, cost, and durability, need to be considered when choosing the best method for long-term data storage.

Here are the best approaches for long-term data storage, along with key recommendations and best practices:

1. Cloud Storage (Highly Recommended)

Cloud storage is the most flexible and scalable solution for long-term data storage. Major cloud service providers like Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service), Google Cloud Storage, and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage offer robust storage options that ensure data durability, security, and global accessibility.

Durability: These services often guarantee data durability of 99.999999999% (11 nines), meaning your data is highly unlikely to be lost due to hardware failure.
Scalability: You can store as much data as you need, and cloud providers will automatically scale storage space as your data grows.
Redundancy: Cloud providers replicate your data across multiple geographic regions or data centers, protecting against data loss from disasters.
Security: Data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and providers often offer multiple layers of access control to protect sensitive information.

Recommended Use Case: This is the best choice for businesses, organizations, and individuals needing to store large amounts of data over long periods, with requirements for security, compliance, and redundancy.

Best Practices for Cloud Storage:

Use Glacier or Cold Storage Options: For infrequently accessed data, choose services like Amazon Glacier or Google Cloud Coldline Storage, which are much cheaper than standard storage but offer high durability. These are ideal for archival purposes.
Regular Backups: Even in the cloud, regular backups are essential. You can set up automatic backup schedules to ensure data consistency.
Data Encryption: Always encrypt your data to ensure it remains secure over the long term.

2. External Hard Drives and SSDs

External hard drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) are traditional methods for long-term storage, where data is stored on physical devices. SSDs are faster, more reliable, and less prone to mechanical failure than HDDs.

Cost: Relatively low cost per GB compared to other storage solutions.
Reliability: SSDs offer greater reliability for long-term storage since they have no moving parts, unlike HDDs, which can fail over time due to mechanical wear and tear.
Capacity: Large-capacity drives (multiple terabytes) are available, allowing you to store massive amounts of data.

Recommended Use Case: External drives are ideal for personal or small business backups where data access is not required frequently, or for offline storage of important data.

Best Practices for External Drives:

Store in a Safe Environment: Store external drives in a cool, dry, and dust-free environment to avoid physical damage.
Duplicate Drives: Always maintain at least two copies of your data on separate drives. If one drive fails, you will have a backup available.
Periodic Testing: Check the integrity of the data stored on the drive every few years to ensure there is no data corruption or drive failure.
Use SSDs for Longevity: SSDs are more durable and resistant to data degradation over time compared to HDDs.

3. Archival Cloud Storage (Cold Storage)

Archival cloud storage (cold storage) is the most cost-effective option for data that needs to be stored for extended periods without frequent access. These solutions offer long-term durability but lower access speeds and are generally cheaper than regular cloud storage.

Amazon Glacier: Offers long-term, low-cost storage for data that is rarely accessed but needs to be available within hours or minutes when required.
Google Cloud Coldline: Ideal for data that is accessed less than once a year but must be readily available when needed.
Azure Archive Storage: Microsoft’s solution for rarely accessed, long-term storage that provides high durability at a fraction of the cost of hot storage.

Recommended Use Case: Best for archival data, such as compliance records, legal documents, media assets, and backup data that you need to store for years but will access infrequently.

Best Practices for Archival Storage:

Plan for Access Time: Access to data in cold storage can take several hours. Plan ahead if you think you may need to retrieve data.
Store Redundant Copies: Store multiple copies in different cloud regions or use a multi-cloud approach to ensure availability in case of a disaster.
Set Up Automated Retention Policies: Use lifecycle policies to automatically move infrequently accessed data to cold storage and purge old data after retention periods expire.

4. Optical Media (Blu-ray, M-Disc)

Optical media, especially M-Disc (Millennial Disc), provides one of the longest-lasting physical storage solutions. M-Disc is designed to preserve data for up to 1,000 years, making it suitable for archival purposes.

Durability: M-Disc is resistant to extreme temperatures, humidity, and physical damage.
Compatibility: Standard Blu-ray drives can read M-Discs, making them convenient for archival storage.
Cost: While more expensive than traditional discs, the longevity of M-Disc makes it a cost-effective solution over time.

Recommended Use Case: Suitable for long-term archival of critical documents, photos, and videos that require physical storage with minimal access.

Best Practices for Optical Media:

Store in a Cool, Dark Place: To maintain the integrity of optical discs, keep them away from direct sunlight, moisture, and heat.
Use High-Quality Discs: Invest in high-quality M-Discs for long-term data storage instead of traditional DVDs or Blu-rays.
Backup in Multiple Formats: Use optical media as part of a broader backup strategy that includes cloud or external drives.

5. Tape Storage (LTO Tapes)

Magnetic tape storage, particularly LTO (Linear Tape-Open), is one of the most reliable and cost-effective solutions for long-term archival storage. Tape storage can store massive amounts of information for up to 30 years.

Capacity: Modern LTO tapes can store terabytes of data, and tape libraries can scale to accommodate petabytes of data.
Durability: Magnetic tapes are reliable and have a long shelf life when stored correctly.
Cost: LTO tapes are more cost-effective for large-scale, long-term storage than cloud or HDD storage.

Recommended Use Case: Tape storage is ideal for enterprises that need to archive large datasets, such as scientific research, historical records, or media archives. It is also commonly used for backup and disaster recovery.

Best Practices for Tape Storage:

Store in a Climate-Controlled Environment: To extend their life, tapes should be stored in temperature-controlled, low-humidity environments.
Use a Tape Rotation Strategy: For backup systems, use a tape rotation scheme (such as the grandfather-father-son method) to ensure data is regularly updated.
Test Tapes Periodically: Check and validate the integrity of tape backups periodically to ensure they are still readable after years of storage.

6. Blockchain for Immutable Storage

For long-term data that needs to be tamper-proof and immutable, blockchain-based storage solutions like Arweave offer decentralized, permanent data storage.

Immutable: Data stored on blockchain cannot be altered or deleted, ensuring integrity over time.
Decentralized: Data is stored across a distributed network, making it more secure against tampering or loss.
Long-Term Durability: Blockchain solutions are designed to preserve data permanently without relying on a single service provider or infrastructure.

Recommended Use Case: This storage method is ideal for storing verifiable and immutable records, such as legal documents, academic records, or digital assets.

Factors to Consider for Long-Term Storage

There are four main factors to consider when deciding between these options.

Cost

The cost of any long-term data storage option is straightforward. Cloud solutions normally use subscription models. You can easily measure the amount of storage against subscription costs. For example, 5,000GB at $50 per month would be one cent per GB. Physical storage options are even simpler.

Durability

After cost, consider how “long-term” the solution is. Subscriptions run in renewing terms but are theoretically permanent. Physical hardware for storage often requires maintenance and/or replacement at some point. More vulnerable physical storage options need backups to be considered “secure” and “permanent”.

Security

Cybercrime is a fast-growing industry. It costs honest businesses like yours more money every year. You need to look at each option’s security measures and vulnerabilities. Successful data breaches can be extremely costly to your reputation and bottom line.

Accessibility & Convenience

This depends on how much you need to access and modify your data. Cloud solutions often offer the convenience of near-instant remote access to users. For many other solutions, you need to think harder about the impact on your workflows.

Future of Data Storage

The biggest data storage trends going into 2024 are artificial intelligence and uncapped growth.

Greater Demand Than Ever

A big reason why hybrid solutions are growing in popularity is volume. There is an emphasis on remote storage and hybrid solutions. Data didn’t sleep in 2023 and won’t anytime soon. The volume of data around the world has been doubling every three years.

Lower Cost

Cloud and hybrid storage solutions continue to lower the costs of data storage. SSD prices fell 12-fold between 2010 and 2022. Plans for high-volume data storage are also cheaper year by year. This is in part due to fierce competition between providers. Across the board, prices are dropping.

Improvement of Hybrid Storage Solutions

Storage configured on software-defined infrastructure is growing more common. More focus is being placed on hybrid solutions. They offer the benefits of different long-term storage options at once.

Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI for storage management is the newest of these trends that will carry over to 2024. AIOps is offering storage solutions with the intelligence to manage themselves. Big businesses are already reporting greater efficiency. They spend less time troubleshooting and more time delivering greater value. In some cases, this means over 50% MTTR reductions. AI programs also enable independent and proactive management. Most programs are efficient with routine tasks. They will intuitively ask for human intervention when they deem it necessary.

Conclusion

Selecting the right method for secure and permanent data storage is crucial for any size or type of business. Finding a cost-effective one is also a must. SSDs, cloud storage, digital optical drives, and hybrid solutions each offer unique benefits. They also each come with various considerations. As both the demand grows and technology evolves, different trends will also emerge. Businesses need to assess their needs and the options on the market to ensure long-term protection for their data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best cloud data storage?

A: There are many cloud storage systems for individuals and businesses of all sizes. The most popular ones are easier to use because they operate with the same infrastructure as popular software suites.

Q: Which type of memory allows for permanent data storage?

A: Permanent data storage requires safety and long-term viability. To some extent, all the options we’ve gone over offer those benefits. Strictly speaking, if you want data “permanence”, you need non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory means that the data is stored even when the power is off. Right now, there are many viable options for business use:

Flash memory
HDD
Optical disk drive
Magnetic tape

Q: How can AI be used in a data storage center?

A: Many new use cases are coming out for AI use in data storage centers. The current use cases are more conservative and in line with AI applications in other industries.

AI offers data storage centers with: