Getting attached to storage

Storage isn't dull. In fact it is one of the top channel opportunities for the coming months and years right through to 2017, says Duncan McAuley

The worldwide market for sales of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices is tipped to expand as smaller businesses look for more cost-effective, scaleable, and manageable ways to store data. I have read some recent projections which suggest the market could exceed $7 billion (£4.4 billion) as soon as 2017.

With NAS, files of any type can be shared over a network.

The number of home and small business networks is multiplying, alongside the continued expansion in data volumes with the related need for back-up and archiving. More and more of the managers of these smaller home or organisational networks are looking for ways to deal with this issue - but, meanwhile, IT managers remain unsure for a number of reasons about using public cloud technology to store data.

Deploying NAS devices, on the other hand, essentially allows them to set up their very own cloud storage.

Personal cloud allows all content to be stored in one safe place on the customer's business network so the customer's employees can share files, stream media, and access this media anywhere. However, this service can be acquired for low or no cost. The users can know exactly where their data is and who has access to it.

There continues to be an increasing market for this technology within the channel with a number of opportunities presenting themselves in 2013.

Unless perhaps your customer has already provided employees with a corporate solution for accessing company data from mobile devices, its users on the coalface are already storing and sharing confidential corporate data via public cloud services such as Dropbox or similar.

NAS can offer the customer increased control of their data using a similar cloud storage experience. There are a range of benefits on offer - including the possibility of having data availability, improved server performance, optimised data access, and end-user transparency on a platform-independent set-up.

NAS devices, whether for home users or small business, can do so much more than store data. Most of these devices can also serve other media, support FTP or iTunes, or even sometimes database and email servers. Many aimed at home users or consumers can be integrated with social networks such as Facebook and YouTube.

Manufacturers of NAS devices include Asus, Synology, Seagate, and many others.

Technology innovations aimed at raising the performance bar of NAS devices is expected to benefit the market in the medium term.

Some vendors are adding functionality to their NAS devices that will enable users to invite others to share data. This is primarily aimed at users in the home. But with business-focused NAS, data sharing is usually confined within a network, or through remote access via configuring and securing ports and setting up port forwarding.

Duncan McAuley is purchasing director at VIP Computers