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Cloud storage for schools

Jamie Stephens Read more February 27, 2012

Last year, Google’s then CEO Eric Schmidt claimed that the world generates the same amount of information every two days as we previously had between the dawn of civilisation and 2003. To be precise, he claimed it was around five exabytes of data (that’s about five billion gigabytes to you and me).

The accuracy of his claim has been debated, but it still raises important questions: what’s the most efficient way to store, organise and share information? Where should we store it? It’s a question for those of us in education, too. Education isn’t immune to this staggering growth in data. More and more schools are teaching courses that involve picture or video editing, creating animations or composing music, all of which require a vast amount of storage space. As in most areas of IT, much has been made of moving storage into “the cloud”, but what do we look for if we want to move in this direction?

The concept of cloud storage has been floating around for a while now, but many of us are confused about what the term actually means. In some cases, cloud storage is just that; a storage area on a file server located in a remote data centre. However, cloud storage really gets interesting when it becomes more than that: used properly, it can handle the needs facing schools every day.

Cloud storage reviews

Remote backup
One of the biggest uses of cloud storage is remote backup. Cloud backup solutions work in much the same way as traditional backup, but the difference is that the data is being moved to a server over the internet, rather than copied onto tape. The big advantage is that the data is well away from your site, meaning you’re protected in the event of fire or flood. It also doesn’t rely on any one individual having to remember to change the tape and take it home each day. You also have the added convenience of being able to restore without having the media physically present. You can log on and restore a file with no switching of tapes required.

The main practical issue you’ll encounter in backing up to the cloud is that of speed. Backing up vast amounts of data to the cloud takes time. The main factor is the upload speed of your broadband connection, but watch out for things such as data throttling (where your speed will be cut after a certain amount of data has been uploaded) or capping (a limit on the amount you can transfer at all). Most school broadband connections should be okay, but it’s worth checking with your ISP before you sign up for a service. It’s also worth looking at your current backup strategy. A full backup each night uses more space and bandwidth, so you may want to consider moving to incremental daily backups (where only the changes are backed up), and carrying out a full backup once a week instead.

Although important, download speed isn’t as vital as you’d think. In most cases, restore operations will be fairly small, and in the event of a complete disaster, some companies will send out the data to you on physical media. Despite this, it may be a good idea to use the cloud as an extension to your backup strategy, rather than a replacement. Back up any vital, timely data locally, as a good backup on-site should be quicker to get back up and running.

Data security
From a non-technical perspective, the main issue you need to think about is data security, and the legality of storing data in the cloud. In education, as in any industry, we’re legally required to ensure the integrity and security of our data, and are bound by the Data Protection Act.

Hosting companies based in the UK should be fully compliant with this – and likewise, companies in the EU will be covered under equivalent legislation. Data hosted outside the EU isn’t subject to the same restrictions, so you may want to treat it with caution.

Data stored off-site is also likely to be more susceptible to outside attacks, so make sure your provider has adequate security measures in place. Look for strong encryption, both where the data is stored and when it’s transferred between your site and the data centre. SSL encryption will cover the latter, and look for 256-bit Blowfish or AES encryption on the server.

Cloud storage can also be a good tool for collaboration. Some services allow several users to be created, and you can then allocate space between them. Users can then choose to allow other users, or even the general public, to access some or all of their files, with read or edit rights as desired. It isn’t dissimilar to having a shared area on an in-house server, but with the added advantage of files being accessible from anywhere and from nearly any device. Many providers will also provide mobile apps so that staff and pupils can access the files and work on the move. Synchronisation between devices is also possible, allowing the same files to be accessed on home and work PCs with little interaction by the user.

As with anything, cost is likely to be a major factor. Prices are normally dictated by the amount of storage you need, with storage space often sold in chunks of several gigabytes at a time. Some providers allow you to pay for only what you use, which can make for a low-cost alternative. However, this can make it difficult to plan your expenditure.

Cost should never be the overriding factor, though; paying extra for a more secure system is highly advisable. Increased costs are nothing compared to the potential fallout from your data being found unsecured.

There’s also an increasing number of free storage options around, which, although usually tailored more to the individual, may still have a role to play in schools. Services such as Dropbox and Windows Live SkyDrive offer users a fast and easy way to transport documents and files between a user’s own PC and the school network, potentially eliminating the need for lost USB sticks and other portable storage options. As well as file storage, these may also link to other services your establishment might offer. SkyDrive, for example, is provided as part of Microsoft’s free Live@edu email service, and ties in to the Office 365 subscription service.

Free vs commercial services
There are downsides to opting for the free services, however. As with any online backup, you need to pay attention to where your data will be stored, particularly if you’re holding staff documents or anything containing confidential information. You don’t want to be uploading files with potentially sensitive data to services with lax security – not to mention services that store data in countries without appropriate data protection laws. As a school, you’ll also likely lose access to any data held on these services if, for example, a staff member leaves their position and leaves the data stored there, rather than on an in-house server.

Another factor to consider with free services, against the commercially available offerings, is availability. A commercial service will normally offer a guarantee that it will be available for, say, at least 99% of the time. Free services aren’t generally subject to the same guarantee and you wouldn’t have any comeback in the event of it being unavailable for long periods of time. With a free service you’re at the whim of your host company. While they can withdraw or change the service tomorrow, commercial offerings have the guarantee of a notice period, and the remainder of your contract to find alternatives.

Storage vs sync
One final thing to note is the difference between online backup and synchronisation. These two types of service can be confused, but as the reviews that follow show, they aren’t the same thing at all: be absolutely clear in your own mind what you require before you choose which service to buy.