Can cloud storage fail?

 We’re big advocates of the cloud. But if you’re new to the cloud, one concern you may have is whether or not cloud storage can fail.

It can! Cloud storage data loss is a valid concern. The cloud is not fool-proof by any means.

Therefore, you shouldn’t rely on your cloud storage provider’s guarantees to keep your data safe. You need to evaluate the risk and put your own safeguards in place.

Of course, one of the major jobs of any competent IT provider is preparing for when, not if, things fail. And that includes your cloud storage.

Cloud storage challenges

So what kind of cloud storage challenges should you be prepared for? There are a number of forms failure can take in the cloud:

• Cloud hosting data center outages
• Inaccessibility to the cloud due to your internet going down
• Compromised accounts leading to data loss or theft
• Cryptolocker ransomware infections leading to your data becoming encrypted and unavailable
• And many other potential issues

Hopefully that makes it clear that you can’t assume that using a cloud storage provider gets you out of security concerns. It doesn’t!

With all those possible points of failure, you may be worried about cloud storage. The truth is, any form of data storage is subject to failure. The key is to hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

Is cloud storage safe?

As with anything, it’s essential to plan for when—not if—things fail. All the challenges mentioned above can be mitigated based on business risk tolerance.

Some solutions that will make things safer include:

• Choosing the best cloud storage provider for your needs
• Geo-redundant data center locations
• Redundant internet connections
• Multi-factor authentication
• Multi-layered security solutions
• Understand how to move your data if you need to switch providers

Of course, any competent IT provider can help you understand and mitigate the risk with your specific situation.