Storage systems such as tapes were the most preferred form of storage when computing was in its nascent stages. But as technology advanced, new storage devices such as disks and the cloud evolved, further highlighting the problems that exist by using tapes. The primary issues pertained to scalability, performance and reliability. Tapes have fixed storage space which means new tapes have to be constantly procured to store more data. While this is true of other storage devices, the fact that tapes occupy physical space makes them that much more difficult to store. New tapes need even more storage and this proves to be a problem, especially when businesses grow and have large amounts of data to store.
Despite these advantages of switching from tapes to the cloud, companies in South Africa continue to use only tapes for storing their information due to two reasons – lack of awareness about storage options and the outdated legislation of the South African government that continues to mandate the use of tapes for storage. Further, many external auditors are unaware of the latest changes in technology and they continue to insist that companies should have tape backups for storage.
Unfortunately, this outdated legislation has prevented South African companies from exploring cheaper and better options such as cloud storage. The many advantages that cloud storage has over these traditional tapes include a higher degree of reliability, better performance, availability of storage space and lower costs as companies pay only for the services used. Further, cloud storage can simplify the computational infrastructure of the company and help it to save costs and efforts on the same.
To enjoy the benefits offered by cloud storage, it’s important for South African companies to migrate over as soon as they are legally able. A concerted effort is needed from the business community, government and the society as a whole to stay on top of the latest development in technology and incorporate the same in the business practices so that South African companies can compete on a global basis.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson