Small business owners and IT professionals collect and monitor data to understand market demand, measure marketing campaigns’ KPIs, ensure effective customer relationship management, and assess various other metrics. With the increasing remote work and artificial intelligence (AI) trends, most SMBs have outpaced their capabilities to store, manage, retrieve, and protect data.
According to Gartner’s 2024 Strategic Roadmap for Storage report, “Advancements in digitalization, use of AI and GenAI, and adoption of cloud operating models are putting enormous pressure on IT operations to transform outdated methods.” [1]
Owning, operating, and maintaining a data center is often for many small businesses. Just 50% of companies say they own all data center equipment hardware, 32% own most hardware, 15% own and rent data center equipment hardware about equally, and only 3% rent most or all hardware*.
Considering the importance of data storage management to a business’s success, it is crucial to understand the different types of data storage services and learn about various data storage management services based on business needs.
What is data storage management?
Data storage management, according to IBM, “is the practice of ingesting, processing, securing, and storing an organization’s data, where it is then utilized for strategic decision-making to improve business outcomes.” [2] As a small business owner, you must know that there are dozens of uses for the data collected by a business. Data management and storage are critical to every area of a business, from providing marketing with customer dashboards and customer journeys to business intelligence, visualizations, and more.
While large organizations have fully staffed IT departments, with data storage management allotted to a dedicated storage administrator, small businesses often have an IT generalist handle the storage management duties, depending on resources and staffing.
Either way, managed data storage often begins with establishing a data retention policy. This policy helps to define basic data retention practices, including data storage duration and safety and disposal policies. It also establishes the standard practices related to searching, accessing, and collecting data and who will have access to it.
Data sanitization is also a part of data storage management, as establishing safe data disposal is crucial to protect the organization and the customers and comply with any local, national, or international regulations. According to UpCity research, “The top 3 data sanitization methods companies use before disposing of hard drives and other data storage devices are formatting (73%), encrypting (63%), and deletion (56%)*.” Moreover, the data retention policy should clearly communicate whichever your business chooses.
Fortunately, there are several types of data storage available to help businesses manage data storage securely and effectively.
What are the different types of data storage?
Among the many data storage types, there are several you are probably familiar with, including:
- Cloud data storage: Rising remote work trends have increased the popularity of cloud computing and cloud storage across businesses of all sizes. Cloud data storage places all data in a cloud service provider’s data center, such as Amazon or Google. Once placed in a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment, the data is accessible anywhere in the world via the internet. Cloud data storage provides limitless storage since you rent your storage space based on need from a cloud service provider, but those costs can grow beyond what a small business might be willing to pay.
- Direct-attached storage (DAS): This type of data storage is directly connected to any device accessing it. It can be as simple as flash drives, external hard drives, or larger data hubs that are not connected to a network.
- Network-attached storage (NAS): Unlike DAS, NAS employs a unique hardware unit that allows data to be accessed by multiple devices at the same time (as long as they are connected to the same network). These solutions feature multiple drives and often have their own processors, memory, and basic operating systems.
- Storage area networks (SAN): SANs are more complex than network-attached storage and feature a dedicated network for data access and a data storage system. They are also on-site solutions, with data storage hardware and systems in one location.
- Software-defined storage (SDS): Unlike NAS and SAN, software-defined storage does not require dedicated storage hardware that a specific vendor supplies. SDS lets you utilize your own choice of data storage and management software with whichever hardware you choose, making it flexible and scalable (you can add storage space hardware as needed).
These are the most common options you may run across, although hybrid storage options and other data management tools may exist.
Common data storage management strategies and when to implement them
How your business chooses to manage data storage may be as varied as the types of data storage available, especially when you consider hybrid storage options or combinations of available data storage management tools and strategies.
For example, some businesses still feel more comfortable and more capable of handling their data locally, including with their own hardware. However, this comes with a regular cost, as our UpCity research found that “61% of companies say storage issue is among their top reason/motivation for replacing/upgrading their hardware”*.
The option or options that your SMB chooses will depend on the volume, uses, and growth of your data. Here are a few complementary data storage types that can be implemented either on their own or in concert with other options.
Cloud storage: Cloud storage offers scalable, virtual data storage accessible anywhere by anyone with the proper credentials. According to the UpCity report Modernize Your File Storage and Data Services for the Hybrid Cloud Future, “some vendors are starting to offer subscription, consumption-based pricing as well as storage as a service (STaaS) products to provide a viable option for cloud-native benefits, along with hardware life cycle management.” [3] Cloud storage is often utilized along with local file storage as a backup, providing an added layer of security.
File storage: File storage can occur in many ways, including small, portable storage devices (external drives, disk drives, flash/USB drives, etc.), local server storage, and other local network options. Local file storage makes sense for some SMBs with limited data uses, local users, and a clear data management protocol (including hardware replacement, data sanitization, etc.).
Block storage: Block storage stores data in fixed-size blocks, and each block is stored and accessed independently. This option comes in handy when utilizing a storage-area network as described above, offering fast, random access to the data. However, block storage tends to be more expensive and does not offer useful search or metadata capabilities.
Optical storage: This type of storage utilizes discs and lasers. CDs, DVDs, and even Blu-Ray discs are available options, though they have been outpaced and a bit outdated over the last decade, thanks to advancements in high-capacity SSDs and cloud storage. However, optical storage can still serve a purpose as an option for data backups and long-term storage.
Flash and SSD drives: The flash storage and solid-state drives (SSD) are durable, reliable, and much faster than some other data storage options. They are also more portable than discs (optical storage). [2] The downsides are their limited ability to share data across employees or computers, the cost of periodically replacing and upgrading devices, and the chance that smaller devices could easily be lost or stolen (compromising data security).
When choosing between one or more of these options, you should consider several considerations, including cost (upfront and ongoing), room for expansion/scalability, data security and privacy protection concerns, access and speed, and more [4].
How can you leverage data management service providers?
Finding the right data management service providers can be tricky. Check out UpCity’s ‘Big Data & Business Intelligence Providers’ or ‘IT Services Providers’ blog to get the best guidance. Many small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups have found expert help and third-party agencies with extensive experience in managed data storage, safe data management, data policy development, and providing ongoing IT services at every level.
Consider engaging with one or more of these providers before choosing data storage options or policies. Many providers in the UpCity network have extensive experience guiding SMBs and CEOs through the development of policies, addressing the business’s needs, and balancing them with regulatory concerns, compliance, and data safety.
Additionally, our research has found that, on average, 27% of organizations replace/upgrade their data center equipment within two years, while 37% of businesses replace/upgrade between 2 and 4 years*. UpCity’s network of IT and data providers can also provide guidance and recommendations on everything from upgrades to policy and procedure updates that align with your company’s needs.
More on data management and storage for SMBs
Increasing cyberattacks and strict regulatory requirements necessitate businesses to focus on effective data storage management. Now that you know the various types of data storage and how to leverage data storage management for your business, you can check out these UpCity copies to further protect your business data:
Survey methodology
*UpCity’s IT Management Survey was conducted in June 2023 among 500 respondents to learn more about IT management practices at U.S. businesses. All respondents were screened for IT positions at companies with 1000 or fewer employees.
Sources
- 2024 Strategic Roadmap for Storage, Gartner
- What is data management?, IBM
- Modernize Your File Storage and Data Services for the Hybrid Cloud Future, Gartner
- 4 Types of Data Storage: A Guide for Businesses, Copy Systems Inc.