Every day people create and work with large quantities of data at work, schools, or businesses. While this data is usually stored in their respective devices, those devices might get damaged or hacked, leading to the loss of that data, which might be vital for you. To avoid such a scenario, transferring your entire digital collections to the cloud is the best option.
A cloud is an intangible storage space made of logical pools for data to be stored. Many hosts (companies with large servers) offer cloud storage, which lives on an internet connection. These servers act as data backups for their users while implementing maximum cybersecurity measures to prevent data theft. It has this flexibility whereby trusting an IT support in New York to move all your digital properties into the cloud, you can ensure proper protection for your data and access it from anywhere in the world with a cloud device.
Choose a Cloud Provider
Your data will ultimately end up in a physical server once transferred into the cloud, so you need to find a reputable and secured cloud service provider. Currently, AWS, Google, and Microsoft (learn about Microsoft Office Governance here) dominate the market, with a few others on tow.
All of these providers offer unique options and benefits. Make your choice by evaluating the following factors: security, compliance, architecture, manageability, service levels, customer support, and costs.
Backup Your Current Digital Collections
Whether you’re using a desktop or a smart device, the steps required to back up your current files and data are similar for both mediums. Download a synchronization software or app on your device unique to the service provider you choose. You can also select a universal option that can interact with most major cloud service providers like Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, and more.
Once you have the synchronization software installed, select the files and folders on your device that you want to move to the cloud server. You or anyone with access to your cloud account can interact with the data without chances of losing it or falling victim to hacking.
After your account is set up, it’s essential to identify which files and data you want to back up on the cloud as the hosting cost usually ramps up the more data is stored. Chances are you won’t be able to transfer everything from your device due to this reason. Here are the most common and important file types to sync to your cloud service:
- Documents, Pictures, and Videos: Your priority once your device is synchronized to your cloud service provider are the essential documents, which include Word documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs. Once you’ve synchronized your documents, go for contact information, images, and videos that are crucial for work, studies, or business.
- Internet Browser Data: Many people bookmark the data and documents they need on their internet browsers instead of downloading them to save space and avoid getting overwhelmed. If you have an extensive list of browse bookmarks, you can synchronize them to the cloud.
- Email Backup: Creating email backups is very situational as they’re generally stored in the email service provider’s server. It’s only necessary if you’re using a POP3 protocol instead of an IMAP protocol to download emails to your device directly.
Once you’ve shifted to the cloud, you can rest easy. If you ever accidentally delete data, you can now recover it. If you damage your device and lose data that you didn’t upload on the cloud, don’t panic. Some computer repair service companies also offer file recovery and backup services. You can find a computer repair service company near you that can recover the data you lost.
Consider Security Risks
When choosing your cloud service provider, you should also weigh in the security factors. While cloud security is very competent in dealing with data theft, leakage, and accidental deletion, you shouldn’t depend on it entirely. Consider using password protection for all your essential files and folders, which you can do easily from any device.
For extra security, backup files in several secure locations, not just the cloud. You should consider an external hard drive for backup if you have many media files on your device.
Think a Few Steps Ahead
With businesses and classes becoming more online and device dependant, data security is more important than ever. By backing up your data, you can ensure that your business or career doesn’t suffer from any crippling blows due to data loss or theft. Consider backing up your data if you haven’t already.
