Data is becoming a more important part of companies as they become more dependent on digital tools and software. In many instances, data storage and communication play vital roles in the relationships between businesses with their clients, customers, and other partners. If that data is stolen or damaged, it can deprive those parties of trust and cause business loss.
Enterprises must have a reliable platform for communication and data storage in order to prevent the loss of valuable data. The platforms must be able of ingesting huge amounts of real-time information and have the capacity to store that data indefinitely. Additionally, they need to allow data to be easily accessible by a variety of systems that require it.
There are two major types of data storage: direct area and network-based. Direct area storage, also known as direct-attached communication and data storage platform storage (DAS) is stored on hardware that is directly connected to the computer that accesses it. Examples include hard disk drives, USB flash drives, optical discs, and solid-state drives like compact discs or digital video discs. DAS devices are more expensive than networked data storage but offer more speedy access and better local backup capabilities.
Data storage that is network-based is performed on servers connected to the network. This typically happens in a datacenter. This type of storage enables more information sharing, and offers more redundancy and protection from disasters than DAS. It is also more affordable than DAS, depending on the storage system you choose. Common solutions include storage area networks (SAN) as well as network-attached systems (NAS) and object storage platforms.
