There are different media that can be used for both data backup and archiving. One of the most common is hard disk drives. These mechanical storage platforms are used for both offline and online purposes. Organizations and average computers users typically accumulate gigabytes of data that need to be backed up. Data isn’t only accumulated through personal computers, but also smartphones, tablets and other computing devices. Hard disk drives are typically affordable, especially compared to SSD. While its solid state brethren could provide better significant data transfer performance, HDD is more appropriate for back up purposes due to the low dollar to gigabyte ratio.

Hard drives for back up purposes usually have at least 1TB in size. This is significant enough to store space hogging data, such as videos, movies, high resolution pictures and others. Although hard disk drives are effective for storing data, they are still not perfect. When it comes to backing up data with hard disk drives, there are advantages and drawbacks that we need to consider. The advantages of hard disk drives are quite obvious. They are highly accessible and it means that data can be accessed very quickly.

Whether the hard drive is used for primary computing purposes or as a backup platform, any data can be retrieved within seconds. Hard disk drives are also known for their affordability. The costs of hard disk drives are continuously being driven down, especially with the constant reduction of SSD prices. For each gigabyte that users get, consumers pay less and less each year. Hard disk drives are also known for their high degree of compliance. These platforms are known for their basic capabilities to meet regulatory and compliance requirements. This should ensure that data can be called in its intended and original format.

Unfortunately, there are a number of drawbacks associated with the use of hard disk drives for back up purposes. Hard disk drives typically have limited time span and it would be lucky for users to get a fully working hard disk drives after 5 years of usages. It means that hard disk drives would need to be replaced before it actually fails. Hard disk drives are also not self-sustaining platforms and they require power. Hard disk drives don’t have to be housed in computer casing and can be accessed externally using data cables, but they still require constant power.

Power consumption is also relatively high. As an example, air conditioning and other cooling purposes may be needed. This contributes to associated operating costs. Accumulation of heat could result in shorter lifespan and a shorter migration may be needed. Large organizations that operate hundreds of multi-terabytes HDDs in an in-house data centers would face higher environmental and organization costs. Eventually mistakes would happen and it is important for companies to deal with possible data failures. Problems could become much more serious if they are not addressed quickly enough.