Guide to Solving Your Computer Storage Problems

How to secure more storage capacity for your digital data

By LaRita Heet, Freelance Writer, Journalist, IBT Designer, LMH Communications

There are three basic types of computer storage solutions from which to choose:

1. Smallest Storage, Smallest Expense
2. Medium Storage, Medium Expense
3. Large Storage, Large Expense

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Shop smart for basic storage solutions

Everyone's storage needs are a little different. Find the best solution for your situation at the storage leaders.

I recommend: Compare prices at BuyerZone, where disks/drives are broken down by media capacity, drive cost and media cost per megabyte. Iomega has storage down to a science and offers several small biz storage solutions. Imation is a leader in data storage. Western Digital's array of storage drives – Enterprise, Desktop, External, and Mobile - offers something for everyone.

SAN and NAS and RAIDs, Oh My!

Network storage, although more expensive and time-consuming, offers higher capacity solutions.

I recommend: StoreVault's all-in-one storage appliance has all the capacity you might need. Check out Ciprico's DiMedia line for fast large file transfers, hot swappable capabilities (you can add/remove them safely while the computer is running) and data that can be accessed securely from – well, anywhere.

Latest and Greatest in Storage

Recent highly-touted small business computer storage solutions include Zetera's Hammer Z-Series, Imation's Odyssey removable hard disk drive (RHDD) backup cartridge, and more.

I recommend: Check out Zetera's Hammer Z-Series, Imation's Odyssey (for more information), and Quantum Corp's GoVault (removable drive storage designed for SMB). Need something super-portable, with big muscle? Then check out the tiny U3 Smart Drives

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Byte-Size: Know your bytes (the common computer storage unit): MB (megabytes) is 1 MILLION bytes; GB (gigabytes), is the same at 1,000 MB, OR 1 BILLION bytes; and the lesser-known TB (terabytes), is equivalent to 1,000 GB, or one TRILLION bytes (units).
• •  Right Size: For storage, get the right fit, size-wise and price-wise.
• •  SLAs: Look for the best warranties or SLAs (Service Level Agreements) before you buy.
• •  Security: Make sure your storage offers the best in security for your data.
• •  Two for the Price of One: Many storage solutions also offer data backup, so there's no excuse for losing your company's files (and success) due to a computer crash, fire damage, or natural disaster.