Best Storage Management Practices For Businesses
What are the best storage management practices for business? This question is becoming increasingly important in a world dominated by cloud, AI, and cybersecurity challenges.
Storage is also more complex these days with more companies adopting a hybrid approach, maintaining control over their core data while also outsourcing some tasks to external servers.
The practices we list in this guide are from current enterprise trends that include things like efficient tiering and AI integration.
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Make your data governance policies airtight
You'll want to start by making your data governance policies airtight. The clearer you can define access rights and data ownership, the safer your information will be. Many companies assign a data steward, this is a person who determines who can access which data and when. Companies also use flexible governance frameworks that allow businesses to strike a balance between flexibility and control. Too much rigidity can make it challenging to operate a business in the way that people want.
Implement hierarchical storage
The next thing you'll want to do is implement hierarchical storage, sometimes called tiered storage. For example, if you have data that's being accessed all the time, then high-performance SSDs are the good option. These have very quick read and write speeds, meaning that users can access and upload data very quickly.
For data that isn't used as much, you can opt for lower-cost HDDs. These are ideal for warm or cold data storage and archival applications. Just make sure that any files stored here are rarely used as they can take longer to retrieve.
Work with somebody who knows what they're doing
It's also a good idea to work with somebody who knows what they're doing. If you can find a team or a partner that understands how cloud operations work and the best way to implement storage in businesses, then you're on to a winner. For example, the best server parts wholesale supplier in your industry could also offer consulting. We suggest taking advantage of these schemes where they are available.
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Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule
Another thing you'll want to do is follow the 3-2-1 rule. This means maintaining three copies of data on two different media with one of them off-site, preferably air-gapped in the cloud.
This approach means that you're less likely to lose your data. You also become far less vulnerable to hacker attacks like ransomware manipulations.
You become more cyber resilient, which is the term used in the industry, especially if you add in additional systems like proactive ransomware detections and immutable snapshots in time.
Prioritize data security
Lastly, but by no means least, you'll need to prioritize data security. Auditing storage frequently and eliminating duplicates and unnecessary files is important because it reduces the risk of Trojan horses from getting through.
However, you also want to encrypt the data when it's at rest and in transit. If you can implement role-based access, that's also useful because it allows you to silo employees and prevent insider risks.
Additional approaches can also include zero-trust principles and masking sensitive data.
