One of the evolving items in your office, 20 years ago, was probably your filing cabinets. Your invoices, employee contracts, agreements and other documents all had to go into filing cabinets and be stored for various lengths of time. We still have filing cabinets, but they are being growing less.
What I can guarantee is growing at a very rapid pace is your digital storage needs, Your trying to get by stringing together external hard drives, labeling USB keys and deleting files to preserve hard disk space.
One of the tools you need to invest in is a network attached storage (NAS) appliance. These appliances are low cost (a few hundred dollars) and will help you move your data from a computer to an expandable storage system directly attached to your network.
Why is this important?
???? Instead of trying to squeeze every bit of of storage space of several computers, you have one appliance.
???? As your computer system needs grow, you know that your data is safe, regardless of how you upgrade your computers
???? Your storage is (relatively) infinitely expandable.
There are a lot of NAS devices on the market, dozens or more. One new one is the launch of the new Iomega StorCenter ix2-200.
These devices come in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities and utilizes a simple four-step setup to be operational in a matter of minutes – be it in a business setting or in the digital home.
One of the features I really like is the remote access capability of the device which allows you to remotely manage and access pictures, videos, work files and other digital data on the ix2-200 from anywhere in the world. Just enter a personalized web address into any browser for easy downloading and uploading of files securely.
Another feature is the backup feature. The StorCenter ix2-200 provides data backup and protection for any number of desktops and laptops with integrated backup software. During the set-up process, users choose files and folders for scheduled automatic backups. After that, any changes or additions are updated and saved automatically.
Ramon Ray is the editor and tech evangelist for Smallbiztechnology.com
