External hard drives are an essential tool for modern business. Not only do they allow you to backup important data, they allow for increased collaboration to boost productivity and efficiency. Choosing the right external hard drive for your business requires some planning. But once you’ve got the right one, you’ll wonder how you ever survived without it.
Speed
When it comes to hard drive speed, faster isn’t always better. The world’s fastest external hard drive will be overkill for many companies. Your business might not need the efficiency of a super fast hard drive if all you’re doing is backing up your data weekly—just about any external hard drive will do the trick for that. However, if you regularly work with large files such as videos or 3D graphics, you want something with more power—something with USB 3.0 capability.
Reliability
Solid state hard drives (SSDs) are a lot faster, longer lasting, and more reliable than normal hard disc drives (HDDs) because they don’t have moving parts, but they’re also a lot more expensive. You could probably drop a solid state hard drive on concrete and it would still work (don’t try this at home); or at least your data will likely be recoverable. Regardless of whether you choose SSD or HDD, look for a good warranty. You don’t want your external hard drive to only last a year.
Ease of Use
Particularly if most of your employees aren’t tech-oriented, you don’t want something that requires a lot of maintenance to work. This means picking a drive that comes with software. If, on the other hand, your company is big on tech, you may want a drive offering more customizable options that your tech support team can provide. And if people are using different operating systems, you want something with interoperability everyone can easily use.
Security
Your external data is just as vulnerable as your internal data—if not more so. So you need a hard drive with security and encryption baked in. Because people don’t typically spend as much time on an external drive, it could be weeks or months before you realize there’s been a breach in your system. Pick something that’s going to make it a lot harder for people to target you.
Storage Space
The size of your hard drive is also important. You can get multiple terabytes on an external drive, but it might be overkill for your business. If you want enough storage to allow for your business’s expansion, but you’re not growing quickly, your storage capacity may exceed the speed you need to easily retrieve your information. Figure out how much data you’re actually going to need to backup, rather than just buying the biggest (and most expensive) thing out there. You can buy eight terabytes, but that doesn’t mean you should.
An external hard drive is a serious investment. Take some time, think about what you need, and you’ll be able to buy something appropriate for your business.