Cloud storage has become ubiquitous for personal use - nobody bats an eyelid over their photos being automatically stashed online by the phone they use to take them - but businesses have been slower to commit. Caution is understandable and indeed encouraged when you’re dealing with confidential data, but most reluctance about moving to new platforms is based on outdated understanding of how cloud storage works.

That means too many companies are still relying on physical storage, like local servers or even DVD backups, which is like clinging to mixtapes when everybody else is on Spotify. Top marks for retro cool, but at best a C+ for efficiency and accessibility, and that’s worth avoiding whether you’re lining up classic B-sides or purchase orders. Myths about cloud storage will trap you in outdated, inefficient and expensive workflows, while the best document management systems can turbocharge productivity - here are the eight most egregious misunderstandings and why you should ignore them.

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Myth:

Cloud storage is less secure than physical hard drive backups

Some business leaders fear that storing data in the cloud exposes it to more security risks than traditional on-premise storage. That’s understandable, given the ongoing list of high-profile data breaches - but the majority of such breaches often boil down to human error rather than fundamental technological shortcomings, and news coverage rarely explains the role of encryption and access control. 

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Fact:

Okay, we’ll admit that the technically purest digital security is a physical server that is “air-gapped” from the internet, ensuring that it’s totally inaccessible to remote access. But that’s wildly overblown for anything less important than the Coca-Cola recipe, and most businesses require online connectivity to function so it’s not an option in any case. Once you have an internet connection in the office, cloud storage is handily more secure than local because it’s permanently updated, backed up and monitored by a substantial central resource. Achieving the same level of protection for a local server requires a team to constantly monitor and update it, as well as enhanced physical security to protect against break-ins or even disasters like fire or flooding. Plus, the right cloud storage solution gives you complete control over access, with unlimited user accounts.

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Myth:

Cloud storage is expensive

Some businesses assume that cloud storage is more expensive than maintaining on-premise infrastructure. This misconception often arises from the initial cost of cloud services compared to one-time investments in local storage infrastructure, without considering the long-term savings. (Alternatively, people baulk at the price of business cloud storage vs consumer cloud storage).

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Fact:

While on-premise storage involves upfront hardware and maintenance costs, cloud storage typically operates on a pay-as-you-go model, making it more cost-effective in the long run. With cloud solutions, businesses save on hardware costs, energy consumption, and IT staff costs. And while, yes, it’s cheaper to get a personal Box or Dropbox account, you don’t get anywhere near the security or file management features that your business needs.

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Myth:

Cloud storage is only viable for small businesses

Many think that only small businesses can benefit from cloud storage, while larger enterprises require more sophisticated on-site servers with a dedicated IT team to manage them.

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Fact:

Cloud storage is scalable and can meet the needs of businesses of any size. In fact, large enterprises often benefit from the cloud's ability to handle vast amounts of data while offering flexibility and cost savings. Cloud storage can easily scale to accommodate growing data requirements with a near-automatic account upgrade - Workiro offers unlimited business cloud storage by default - whereas stepping up local storage can require significant investment in hardware or staff, with the requisite procurement processes beforehand.

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Myth:

Cloud storage isn’t reliable

The belief persists in some quarters that cloud services are prone to outages or data loss. This stems from some early issues with cloud reliability and the high news profile of any more recent service outages, which are widely reported due to the impact they can have.

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Fact:

Outages do happen, but they’re rare and rapidly fixed - not least because cloud providers have global support teams and a contractual commitment to uptime. The leading cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure offer service level agreements (SLAs) that ensure high uptime and data reliability. They also include built-in redundancy thanks to data centres across the globe - a clear lead over local storage, which leaves you waiting for limited and high-priced human tech support in the event of problems. 

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Myth:

‍Cloud storage isn’t suitable for sensitive data

Some business decision-makers avoid the cloud because they assume it’s unsuitable for storing sensitive data, like customer information or financial records. The increasing legal burden under regulations such as the EU GDPR has focused anxieties on the subject.

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Fact:

All credible cloud providers comply with various industry regulations across a wide variety of territories, often simultaneously - so a single platform comes out of the virtual box compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2. Any platform worth its salt also comes with robust access control and data logging, too, to a level that’s at least equivalent and often easier to use than a locally-hosted version. Choose the right document management platform, and audits become much easier and compliance is automatic.

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Myth:

Cloud storage slows down data access

Some believe that storing data in the cloud will result in slower access speeds compared to local storage, due to the distances involved.

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Fact:

This might have been true once, but it basically died with dial-up. While local storage can be faster for immediate access, modern cloud providers use advanced caching mechanisms and global data distribution to minimise latency. In many cases, cloud storage is faster than local solutions, especially for remote teams and businesses with multiple locations. The only thing that can slow it down is your wifi. 

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Myth:

Once you start using a cloud service, you’re locked into it

A recurring concern is that once your data is in the cloud, retrieving it or switching providers is a complicated and time-consuming process.

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Reality:

Cloud providers typically offer tools for easy data migration, backup, and export. With good reason: businesses retain control and ownership of their data and can transfer it between cloud platforms or back to on-premise storage whenever necessary. 

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Myth:

Cloud services are just for file storage

The claim: cloud storage is only for backing up files, and not for more complex data management needs.

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Reality:

Cloud storage is a flexible solution that can be far more than just a place to stash your documents. Modern cloud platforms like NetSuite allow businesses to store, manage, and analyse large datasets, integrate with other software, and host applications. Cloud storage is increasingly the backbone for data analytics, and having files stored in the cloud often makes it easier to deploy more advanced platforms and processes using ready-made integrations.

Did we miss anything? If you’ve heard any other reasons why you shouldn’t use cloud storage, we want to hear them - get in touch with one of our specialists and they can give an answer that’s tailored to your business. If you want to learn more about the improvements that unlimited cloud storage can offer to your business, check out our guide to the best document management systems.