For all of its scalability and flexibility, cloud storage continues to exhibit fundamental shortcomings that render it unsuitable for many backup and archiving workflows. The recently announced surprise shutdown of photo backup service Everpix demonstrates that even highly targeted cloud solutions often struggle to find sustainable business models. Many abruptly close up shop for good, leaving media professionals in a bind as they try to migrate digital assets on a short timetable.

The growing public awareness of cloud storage has actually made it more important than ever to maintain physical backups and archives. Consumers can rely on tools such as DIGISTOR REWIND to move all of their photos, videos and important files from their computers to durable Blu-ray Disc for long-term retention. These data archiving solutions make it easy to access assets without having to worry about a particular company experiencing service interruptions or going out of business.

The Everpix shutdown and the risks of relying on the cloud
Cloud service shutdowns have garnered much attention in the past few months, highlighted by the shuttering of enterprise storage provider Nirvanix. Although it operated at a smaller scale than Nirvanix and targeted a different market, Everpix is another cautionary tale about storing critical assets such as photos and videos in the cloud.

Writing for TechCrunch, Colleen Taylor reported that Everpix will cease all operations Dec. 15, 2013. The service collected photos from email, local storage and its mobile applications and arranged them for online backup and viewing.

Ultimately, it failed to generate enough revenue to cover its expenses, and a steep bill from Amazon Web Services – which had been hosting Everpix’s infrastructure – precipitated its shutdown. Prior to the final closing, Everpix will become read-only and eventually provide users with a downloader to extract their collections.

Although far from perfect, Everpix was noted as a leader among online photo backup services. Cult of Mac’s Charlie Sorrel noted that none of its competitors in the cloud had solutions that were as easy to use. However, rather than try to find a replacement for Everpix, its users – and anyone else contemplating cloud backup of photos – should think about physical storage alternatives that are not subject to unpredictable fluctuations in the business cycle. DIGISTOR’s recordable Blu-ray media offer up to 100GB of storage per disc, making them ideal even for large media collections.

Archiving solutions provide answer to cloud-related problems
In an article for ReadWrite, Sergey Kandaurov highlighted the broader risks of depending too much on cloud storage. He argued that even Nirvanix’s migration timetable, while short, was generous compared to other services. Likewise, Everpix’s shutdown, although one month out, will require a lot of work from anyone who has heavily invested in the service.

“When companies shut down, all bets are off and insurance is pretty much meaningless,” wrote Kandaurov. “So what can a company that is dependent on a provider do to protect themselves against this kind of disruption?”

Having a backup plan in the event of cloud troubles is a must for consumers and for businesses. For enterprises, DIGISTOR’s Enterprise Archive provides a scalable, dependable way to archive data to disc for years, keeping it safe from outages or shutdowns yet readily accessible when needed.