Online digital storage is also called internet storage or hosted storage where people or organizations can use a service provider to store their data on the internet and thus avoid storing data locally on physical disks like a hard drive or a tape backup.
People store different types of documents using online storage services as a add on method for some other data storage option they use.
Today, online storage is used by an increasing number of people every day and is growing due to the rise of faster internet speeds.
There are various reasons for this, the first being that it provides easy access to documents, images and other media for not one person, but to many users.
Benefits of these digital storage units Besides storing personal files like images and videos, sensitive data can be stored in these facilities using a password protected account.
People who opt to store important documents here are provided 24 hour access to these important documents, and need not wait for another person to forward the documents from a central server.
Online digital storage sites can also be used for storing important personal documents like living wills, insurance policies and last wills as electronic copies.
These documents are uploaded and stored as backup of hard copies so that if something does happen to its original copies, you can easily access, print and use the electronic versions.
Some people use online digital storage sites for creating and storing virtual photo albums, for storing music files and for storing any other online media for easy access from anywhere you want, using any computer.
This is why online digital storage units are especially useful for people on the move and intermittently use a desktop, laptop and hand-held device.
Disadvantages However there are quite a few people and companies who are apprehensive about using online digital storage facilities because of its lack of security.
Though passwords and other security measures are used to protect these sites.
If a hacker finds the security key to the accounts this may compromise them.
While some of these online digital storage sites offer free services, some of them charge a small monthly fee.
As all the data is stored in one or more remote servers, many internet connections are still too slow to benefit with these services.
Free online digital storage sites offer each user limited storage space with basic security protocols.
It's okay to use these sites for a few files; however it's better to use fee based storage system which will give you much more storage options.
Whichever storage site you use to store your data, make sure you thoroughly check the contract text between you and the provider before agreeing to it.
Find out where the storage facilities are located, and make sure you are the exclusive owner of the account.
Use unique user names and passwords to access all the data you store in these online digital storage sites.