What is data storage: methods, types, and devices to store

As a business grows, it starts to collect more and more data. Even if a business isn’t specifically trying to collect data, it’ll end up with more than expected because it’s expanding its operations and reaching a broader audience.

This means that growing businesses have to invest in data storage solutions even if they don’t plan on collecting data in a large-scale way. Storing data is just good business; even organizations without broad data strategies can still use data for insight.

To compound this, customers and clients are creating more data points than ever. Even if a business holds steady, it will get more data than anticipated. As more and more operations take place online, the kinds of data companies can collect will grow.

Not only does this mean businesses collect more data about their customers and operations, it also means they collect data in different formats. Companies don’t always end up collecting structured data; they also collect unstructured data like images and videos.

That means businesses have to figure out storage solutions for large amounts of data in various formats. Considering every organization has its own priorities, finding a solution that works can be challenging.

Questions from how should data be stored—in the cloud or on-premise—to what types of data storing devices are available can overwhelm businesses and lead to indecision. To avoid this and implement a robust storage solution, learn about the most common data storage options below and determine the best way to store your business data.

What is data storage?

Data storage is the system that saves and preserves your files, documents, and other digital data for ongoing and future use. The most common forms of data storage include optical, magnetic, and mechanical options that retain data and can restore it after unexpected computer problems or cyber attacks. 

Your data is typically stored in one of these ways:

• File storage: a hierarchical method where data files are stored in organized folders within a directory or subdirectory. 

• Block storage: a flexible and fast way to store data, which is stored as blocks with unique identifiers. Used in cloud storage and SAN storage solutions.
• Object storage: for large amounts of unstructured data like videos, photos, emails, audio files, and other textual or non-textual media content that doesn’t easily conform or organize into traditional databases.

When considering data storage for high-level needs or large, complex data projects, look for features like high reliability, strong security, and the costs of implementing and maintaining your storage system. 

Methods of Data Storage

How should you store business data? Comparing the difference between network-based, direct, and cloud-based storage options will help you determine which type of data storage is most suited for your needs.

1. Network Attached Storage (NAS)

NAS is a single data storage device that multiple machines can share over one network. This type of network-based storage consists of either redundant storage containers or a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) based on a file storage system. 

Key benefits of NAS include centralized storage and enhanced collaboration since data is easily shared between connected machines and authorized users. It also has a lower cost and more straightforward setup than SAN but has limited speed since it only works with TCP/IP Ethernet networks.

2. Direct Attached Storage (DAS)

DAS attaches directly to your computer to store data transferred from your machine. While this is a good backup system for your data, it has limited sharing with other devices or systems. DAS storage devices include solid-state drives (SSD), hard disk drives (HDD), USB flash drives, optical disks (like CDs and DVDs), and floppy disks. 

3. Cloud Storage

Cloud-based storage uses the internet like one extensive network instead of relying on a local area network. Data is stored in an off-site location, and authorized users can access their data through the internet, regardless of location. Cloud storage offers easy expansion as your business grows and can have lower setup and operating costs than on-premise storage options when dealing with vast amounts of data. We discuss cloud-based solutions in further detail below.

4. Storage Area Network (SAN)

SAN is a type of network-based storage that uses a combination of storage devices, including USB flash drive storage, SSD, cloud storage, or any method of hybrid storage. It works with fiber channel networks, allowing for faster performance than NAS, and is ideal for multiple users. It can be a more expensive network-based storage solution but offers unlimited expansion abilities. 

Types of Data Storage Devices

Data storage has dramatically changed as technology evolved and improved. Gone are the days when businesses had to rely on floppy disks and HDDs with small storage capacities. Now you have many options that preserve large data capacities, both on and off-premise. Explore the main types of data storing devices below.

SSD and flash storage

These solid-state devices use flash memory to write and store information. SSDs have no moving parts and offer less latency than HDDs, so they quickly transfer data between devices and are less prone to damage. This device works well for storing current workloads or your most critical data but may be cost-prohibitive for storing data long-term.

Cloud storage

Advances in technology have made cloud storage much more cost-effective for many organizations. With this device, your data is stored in offsite locations instead of on-premise and hosted on a public cloud network or service provider. Your provider maintains the infrastructure and keeps your data secure. Cloud storage is easy to access from any internet-connected device. 

Hybrid cloud storage

This device combines public and private cloud services to better address your needs. You can keep compliance-regulated or highly sensitive data on a private cloud, where you have full control of security. Then store less sensitive information on a public cloud, which is less expensive. Some hybrid solutions also combine cloud storage with on-premise devices for further customization. 

Backup solutions

Including a backup strategy in your data storage plans is crucial, as it prevents loss from unexpected outages, thefts, data corruption, or cyber crimes. Backup devices can include physical devices like HDD and SSD, but many companies are choosing cloud-based backup software or applications that store backed-up data off-site, with easy access from anywhere.

How to Store Data

The above devices aren’t the only way to preserve your data. Businesses with significant amounts of data can also benefit from cloud databases, warehouses, or lakes.

Cloud databases

Cloud databases are some of the simplest kinds of storage. They’re generally designed with a small scale in mind and can handle common data formats in their original states.

This means uploading an Excel file to a basic cloud database keeps it in its original state. It won’t transform into another format or programming language. Users simply upload their data to their cloud database, and then it’s stored in its original format until someone else needs it again.

Cloud databases can be useful for smaller businesses or ones that need to store structured and unstructured data in the same place. But basic ones often cannot scale appropriately to manage data in a centralized way.

In addition, they require additional work to be useful for BI applications. Data first needs to be reformatted before being transferred into a BI tool.

Basic cloud warehouses work best in conjunction with other strategies. They’re helpful as small-scale, local, self-managed options that different teams and departments can use to manage their data.

Data warehouses

Data warehouses are a common data storage approach for mid-sized businesses that manage data in a more agile way. They’re great for storing structured data that can be immediately passed to a BI tool for insight.

A data warehouse doesn’t store information in its original format like a basic cloud database does. Instead, data is translated into a structured format that the data warehouse can store natively.

Businesses need to understand the difference between structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data to learn what sets a data warehouse apart from other data storage solutions.

Structured data is stored in an organized, highly rigid format within a structured database like a data warehouse. Its high level of organization makes it the best choice for data analysis, but it can’t be brought out of its storage tool without losing some of its organizational effectiveness.

When structured data is brought out of its original tool and exported in a file format, it becomes semi-structured data. Semi-structured data still has a level of organization, but there’s no way to organize between files.

Often, semi-structured data has to be uploaded into a data warehouse and turned back into structured data. Businesses can still use it for analysis, but they can’t do that unless it’s re-structured within a structured database.

Lastly, unstructured data has no organizational structure at all. Usually, unstructured data means things like text, video, audio, and other files that don’t contain numerical data.

Businesses can’t analyze unstructured data unless they use cutting-edge analytical techniques. Machine learning and neural networks can help analyze unstructured data, but companies need to look for tools that specifically offer these features.

The key thing with a data warehouse is that it can only store structured data. Any data that a business stores in its warehouse will be transformed into the data warehouse’s storage format, losing its original file format.

In addition, a data warehouse can’t store unstructured data at all. If a business wants to collect and store large amounts of unstructured data, they’ll need to find another solution.

However, a data warehouse does have other advantages. First, it can collect and store data completely automatically, through data integrations. Users don’t have to upload or update their data manually.

Second, data warehouses have the scale larger businesses need to store their data. Companies can store massive amounts of data in their warehouses, and because these warehouses are cloud-based, businesses can buy more space if needed.

Lastly, many BI tools offer data warehousing tools and capabilities. This way, a business can store all their data in the same tool they’ll use for data analysis and visualization.

Data lakes

Some of the largest enterprises use a data storage strategy called a data lake. Data lakes have minimal structure and don’t usually contain actionable data, but their scale makes them a valuable tool for large organizations.

A data lake is similar in concept to a cloud database but differs in scale and connectivity. Like a basic cloud database, a data lake stores information in an unstructured way, using original file formats.

However, a data lake operates at a much larger scale, and like a data warehouse, it acts as a central data repository. It can also connect to data sources and collect their data automatically, a feature that’s not common among more basic databases.

Some data lakes even offer structured data storage options so businesses can store their structured data for analytics in the same place as the rest of their data.

Data lakes are most valuable for businesses that need to store a large amount of unstructured data. In this case, a ‘large amount’ of unstructured data doesn’t mean a few terabytes of data; businesses often need to store hundreds of petabytes.

Businesses’ data demands are also constantly growing. A business may already store hundreds of petabytes of data and add hundreds of terabytes to that daily.

Data lakes are generally the best option for businesses working with data at this scale and who need to use unstructured data for advanced techniques like machine learning. For smaller companies, though, other data storage solutions are more effective.

Putting it all together

Businesses often use multiple different techniques to build their data infrastructure. There aren’t any one-size-fits-all solutions, and businesses are better off designing their own data storage using these strategies as building blocks.

For instance, businesses may use cloud storage for their initial data collection and everyday operations alongside a data warehouse to organize structured data to perform analytics. Or have a combination of on-premise devices for unstructured or sensitive data, backup storage software, and a data lake. 

Regardless of your business’ data storage strategy, the first step is to get started. Storing and managing your data is essential if you want to use BI tools and develop insights that move your organization forward.