Think twice before putting all your data in the cloud.
There is a significant trend toward cloud storage and cloud computing today. For some of us that means doing all of our email via a web-based service like Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. For others it means moving all office applications and data to service like Google Office or Microsoft Live Office. In many cases there is a strong business case for making that migration from the desktop to the cloud. If you (or your company) are not experts in computing then outsourcing the technically complicated operation of your computers, software, and associated data storage can make sense. In these scenarios, best practices dictate that you establish a contract with a third party to take on a specific role in managing your computer environment. There are payments (monthly or annual) for these services and the service provider assumes responsibilities and liabilities.
I have no issue with the cloud-computing trend under the above circumstances, but where I disagree with the whole philosophy of moving to the “cloud” is when it comes to your own personal digital photos and video. Some people are moving many, or all of their photos, to a web-based service that in many cases is a free service. Does this not set off warning bells for anyone? Is it not ridiculous to think someone is going to apply a high level of care and security for your valuable digital media when they are not receiving any money, or more importantly, do not take on any contractual obligation of care and security for your data?
Are you willing to risk the care of all of your family memories to a third party where there is no business relationship? There are some public examples (easily found via Google search) of some of these sites losing thousands of user photos as a result of human error. The largest social network on the planet today has a maximum liability of $100 per their terms of service.
There is something being overlooked and this is why I want you to think twice about sending your data into the “cloud”. If you were looking at a financial investment and thinking about putting your own hard-earned money on the line, you would likely (I hope) do some due diligence. Your due diligence would involve checking out the people who are going to manage your money, what is their business plan, the potential return on the investment and the risks associated. But when it come to your own personal “priceless data”, do you take the time to research these web-based storage companies? Do you read the fine print on the legal terms? Does the provider take on any liability or responsibility for negligence? Do you know where the provider stores the data? Does the provider publish (or even have) a disaster recovery plan for the data center? Are their backups taken to a remote location? Do you know the financial status of the company? My guess is that you, like most people, perform little, if any, due diligence in this regard.
Do you send your money to a convenience store for safekeeping? I don’t understand why someone would put their invaluable photos and video onto a website that has no long-term business history, or solid financing to keep those memories around for their lifetime. These free web-service providers are not IBM or Microsoft or Google. They could easily go away at any time, or change their policy, or drop the services offered with little or no notice. Wouldn’t it be great to have (at a minimum) a clause in their agreement that you will get a copy of your data if they decide to shut down their service? The largest social network in the world (I think you can guess the name) offers a maximum liability for your data of $100, but no guarantees of safety for your data. And you would have to fight them in court to get your hands on the hundred bucks. This social network does offer the ability to download a zip file containing all of your data (I recommend you take advantage of this feature). Another large service provider starting with the letter “Y” takes on no responsibility for your data, and they can change, modify or delete the service offering without any notice.
My advice is to keep your photos and video on redundant storage devices at home (online retailers offer USB disk drives with 1 – 2 terabytes of storage for approx. $100). If you want to also backup a copy of your data to a cloud backup service then you have disaster protection against fire, flood and theft. But, don’t put everything out on the web without some thought and due diligence. Note that this doesn’t mean you can’t use your favorite photo sharing website – just don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. When you are seventy years old and want to sit back in your rocking chair and enjoy pictures of your childhood, I would like you to be able to enjoy those memories as opposed to lamenting their loss!
Author: Ray Ganong, President, Applied Recognition Inc.
