Use cases make the case for cloud storage

Use cases make the case for cloud storage: "Previous attempts at remote storage clearly suffered from latency issues. Similarly, the nature of the Internet could easily wreak havoc on the availability of a service. The breakthrough in the latest generation of cloud storage revolves around caching at the client or within a local appliance that effectively masks Internet latencies, while keeping copies of the most heavily-used data local. By caching locally, these appliances can mitigate the impact of even extended network outages, but just as importantly, can also make remote storage for frequently-used data seem just as responsive as local storage. With a local NAS gateway, storage in the cloud can even mimic the availability, performance, and appearance of mid-range NAS appliances, while being protected at the remote end with a level of assurance that few businesses can hope to achieve on their own. The remaining caveat around performance is that these solutions may consume too much Internet bandwidth when data change rates are too great, and this may cause your cloud storage solution to incur hidden costs. Yet even here, vendors will continue to innovate on capacity optimization and WAN optimization to reduce data transmission."