However, there are many companies that remain fearful of off-site archiving. There are still concerns over security, despite the many millions of pounds that cloud companies invest in top-of-the-range security systems. It’s true that users are far more confident about cloud security than they used to be, but there are still some die-hards fearful of anything not on their own systems.
While security is fading away as an issue, there are two other factors that are still in play.
First of all, there’s cost. As we have seen, archiving costs are low and falling all the time. However, there’s been a slow realisation among IT managers that cloud costs don’t always match expectations and what has been sold as a cheap option can end up costing far more than expected.
The other issue is the concern about getting data out. This is particularly relevant for archiving when managers have to take the long-term view and want to ensure their data is available for a considerable length of time. There have been instances where data is held by a provider that has gone bust and has become inaccessible to customers, which is a nightmare for any manager with compliance responsibilities.
While security is fading away as an issue, there are two other factors that are still in play.
First of all, there’s cost. As we have seen, archiving costs are low and falling all the time. However, there’s been a slow realisation among IT managers that cloud costs don’t always match expectations and what has been sold as a cheap option can end up costing far more than expected.
The other issue is the concern about getting data out. This is particularly relevant for archiving when managers have to take the long-term view and want to ensure their data is available for a considerable length of time. There have been instances where data is held by a provider that has gone bust and has become inaccessible to customers, which is a nightmare for any manager with compliance responsibilities.