Large enterprises typically have a number of redundancies in place to protect data in case copies become lost, erased or corrupted. Data storage best practices indicate that any information stored in the cloud should have at least one copy saved onto an on-premises server. However, small business owners and consumers usually do not have these backup solutions in place, either because they simply haven’t considered the fallout from losing their precious data or they do not have the resources to invest in a secondary data storage device.

The issue of cost has driven many small business owners and consumers to utilize USB drives as their primary form of data archiving. The price of these devices has dropped considerably over the years. According to InfoWorld, consumers can purchase a 128 gigabyte USB drive for approximately $85 today, at a cost of 66 cents per gigabyte.

The risk of USB storage
Although small businesses can now acquire a large amount of removable storage for a relatively low price, USB drives are not ideal as a primary or secondary source of data storage. According to Cadzow TECH, a number of troubling USB drive characteristics should give potential adopters pause. For instance, the devices are typically constructed out of rather shoddy and poorly constructed materials. Everyday use can wear on these components, increasing the risk that they may break and compromise the contents of the drive.

Another major concern is that USB drives are prone to significant corruption issues. Lifehacker’s Tessa Miller explained that many USB users are far too impatient when removing the drives from their computers, increasing the potential for the entire device to become corrupted. It is common practice for individuals to forgo the safe removal process, opting instead to simply remove the drive when they have finished accessing or writing data. However, by doing so, users run the risk of interrupting a program accessing the device. As noted by Cadzow Tech, USB drives are not fault tolerant and any disruptions can result in not only the file in use being corrupted, but the entire device as well.

Both small businesses and consumers need more secure data archiving solutions to protect their important files and documents. A disc-based software package will allow users to back up their data without worrying that their storage devices will become corrupted and unaccessible. By leveraging a Blu-ray burner and DIGISTOR’S REWIND Archiving Software, individuals can copy as many files as they wish across a number of durable discs. This way, important documents will always be accessible when needed.