What is Virtual Data Storage? It is one of the buzzwords for the IT industry these days. You will find a plethora of articles and blogs discussing this topic on the Internet. Some of them offer solutions to your common questions such as ‘What is Virtual Data Room?’ Others throw some technical terms in there and leave you hanging for more.
Let us first understand what a Virtual Data Center exactly is. It is nothing but the place where you store the data files of an entire business on a central server. The entire data center runs on a virtual platform which enables the system to reboot without affecting the rest of the machine. Thus your applications and data are in a safe position and you can work uninterruptedly.
But what is Virtual Data Storage? It is nothing but a new concept which use the concept of Virtual Private Networks in order to provide a fast, reliable and cost efficient means of sharing data between multiple servers located at different locations. In other words it is the new way of sharing your business data with your clients or other employees across the globe.
Now, many companies are opting for this type of hosting because of its benefits. The main benefit is that you will save a lot of money which otherwise you would have to pay to a third party provider who will manage the shared storage. In most cases they also charge a lesser rate than the normal rates. Another benefit is that you will never be stuck with any kind of hardware problems or power cuts. In case of any emergency, all you will have to do is call the support team from the other location and they will take care of everything.
However, Virtual Private Networks (VPD) are not as popular as the Storage Area Networks (SAN) or Fibre Channel (FC) for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is that VPDs require more system resources and the network itself needs a lot of maintenance. The other major problem with VPD is that it can easily be hacked into by unauthorized users. To top it all, the entire process needs to be done from one central point and if that point is physically located in another country, then it becomes completely unworkable. But all these drawbacks will not come into the picture if you use a managed service provider for Virtual Private Data Room.
There are two types of managed services available in the market: desktop management and web-based. For small businesses the desktop management platform offered by many companies will work just fine. However, for large companies and midsize to large midsize companies, a web-based option will be the ideal solution. As such solutions offer several advantages. They are:
With a managed service provider offering VPDs, you don’t have to buy new hardware or install any additional software on the server. The entire data management process takes place on the managed services provider’s server, which further ensures total flexibility and ease of use. You just need to log in to the managed data center console and take control of your managed data room by sitting at your desk and manage your data from there. You won’t have to bother about security, portability, ease of use and the like because everything will take place on the provider’s server.
On the other hand, with a managed services provider, your data is taken care of right from the moment you sign up for the service. You don’t have to do anything, other than pay for the charges you incur for the service. Your data is stored in a secure data room and you don’t have to worry about any kind of data loss. So as you can see, both the types of cloud computing will be beneficial for you. And if you are looking for a solution that will help you with your business in a big way, a managed services provider is highly recommended over a cloud-based application.