The expanding digital universe has not only revolutionised our everyday lives, it has also created massive demand for content storage, says Anamika Budree, brand sales manager at Western Digital SA.
"While hard drives have become increasingly larger to accommodate this growth, there is also a need to be able to access and share content from any device at any time, no matter where the user is," she says. "Public cloud services are one solution, but many users have concerns around the security and privacy of their content on such a platform."
The personal cloud has emerged as the solution to this challenge, according to Budree, offering a private central storage device that enables users to store and access all of their content, from a multitude of different devices, regardless of geographical location, while ensuring this content remains secure and in complete control of the user.
"The rapid adoption of mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, the need to be able to access this content from different devices as well as the sheer volume at which content is created, are all factors driving the increased awareness and adoption of cloud services," she adds.
Burdee notes, however, that while public cloud platforms offer a solution to the centralised storage and access of content, security remains a concern for many users. Incidents of these platforms being hacked or otherwise compromised are not uncommon, she says, and many users require a solution that provides not only the centralised storage and access, but also complete control over their digital lives.
"A personal cloud storage solution is the easiest, most secure and most affordable way for users to have the best of both worlds - access and security," explains Burdee." Personal cloud storage allows users to keep media and files safe at home on their own private physical drive and then access them over the Internet with any PC or Mac computer or on tablets and smartphones through mobile apps."
She adds further that it allows families to connect, share, sync and back up numerous mobile devices and computers in their household, simplifying the complex issue of organising digital files across various devices so that users can enjoy their digital videos, photos and music on all of their devices.
"Also, for the personal cloud offers an effective way of protecting sensitive data while ensuring accessibility for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs can use a combination of personal and public cloud storage not only for primary storage, but also to replicate their data in a secure manner, rather than creating a simple backup, thereby adding redundancy and reducing risk."
Burdee believes that personal cloud storage is fast becoming the new standard, allowing users to keep media and files safe at home or in their office on their own physical drive and then access this information over the Internet with any of a number of devices.
"Users of today demand to be able to do more with their content without losing control, and the personal cloud has arisen to meet this demand head-on," she concludes.
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