Centralizing data with NAS

In the small office, most businesses cannot justify spending large amounts of money on dedicated servers for sharing files (or costly backup servers for critical data).

Yet, with the networked applications of today and increased need to share information with everyone, businesses cannot utilize their technology investments without centralizing their data.

This idea can be implemented relatively inexpensively by using a NAS device. NAS, or network-attached storage, can simply be a device that connects to your existing network and shares storage space to all computers connected to that network.

The space can be partitioned into directories (folders) to be used as data repositories. Objects like documents, spreadsheets, forms, or accounting data can be saved in these shared directories and accessible across the network.

For instance, if you have several spreadsheets that you are currently copying to disk or emailing back and forth from one person to another, you could copy these files to the NAS device and simply access the shared folder from any computer. This gets rid of the headaches such as email clutter, incorrect file versions, and lost data files.

Another great way to use a NAS device is by backing up data across the network. Some companies schedule nightly backup routines that copy critical data over to the NAS device for safe keeping.

This strategy works very well for immediate restoration of data should you accidentally delete or lose something. Plus, the backup software is usually bundled with the device at no additional cost.

It's the cost and ease of use that makes NAS so attractive. For a few hundred dollars you can get hundreds of gigabytes of storage. For most small companies, that is plenty of storage space for any growth rate.

Most devices have an easy-to-use web interface for setup and require only a few minutes of installation time. So you could pickup a NAS device at your local technology retailer and install the device all in the same day. Now that's putting technology to work immediately!

Search the Internet for NAS devices and get more information from companies such as Linksys, Snap Server, and SimpleTech. I'm sure you will find that installing a NAS device increases your access to critical information.