How Decentralized Storage Solves the Challenges of Archiving Data

In today's digital age, the amount of information generated and shared online is staggering. From articles, photos, videos, to research papers and other valuable data, the internet has become a vast repository of information. As a result, archiving data has become increasingly crucial, especially for businesses, institutions, and researchers. However, traditional storage methods like centralized servers and hard drives are not without their challenges, one of which is link rot.

Link rot and the reproducibility crisis

Link rot is caused by broken or dead web links, which lead to outdated, incorrect, or misleading information. This is a major problem in the scientific community, as researchers rely heavily on the accuracy and integrity of the sources they cite. When these links become obsolete, scientists cannot access the information they need, leading to invalid conclusions and inaccurate research. 

Storing data in a centralized manner can increase the chances of experiencing link rot. With centralized data storage, one server may become outdated or defunct, leading to broken or lost links. Additionally, centralized cloud storage is vulnerable to cyberattacks, meaning that data can be stolen or deleted in the event of a breach.

Increase data resiliency with decentralized storage

Decentralized storage solutions, such as Filecoin, provide a more secure and reliable way to archive data. With decentralized storage, data is stored across a network of locations, ensuring that it is easily retrievable even if one location fails or data is lost. Furthermore, data is encrypted and broken into small pieces before being stored on the network, making it virtually impossible for anyone to tamper with the data.

Decentralized storage solutions also offer cost-effectiveness. They require less upfront costs than traditional storage options as there are no hardware or software upgrades that are needed to maintain the storage solution. Furthermore, since each storage provider in the network is responsible for its own backup of data, the cost of hard drive failure and data loss is minimized. 

Conclusion

Archiving data is an essential part of information management, but traditional storage methods like centralized servers and hard drives are not without their challenges, including link rot and vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Filecoin Decentralized Storage offers a more secure and reliable way to archive data while being cost-effective. By leveraging decentralized networks, data can be safely stored and easily retrievable, ensuring that valuable information is available for future use.

Learn more about decentralized storage 

The IDC, a leading global market intelligence firm, recently conducted a Cloud Storage Survey to explore organizations’ perceptions of the drawbacks to existing public cloud storage providers; and their appetite for decentralized storage solutions.

Survey highlights:

• Over 87% of organizations were at least somewhat concerned about public cloud provider lock-in, and more than 46% were very or extremely concerned about it.
• 82% of enterprises indicated that cost considerations were the initial reasons to move data into the cloud
• The value proposition of decentralized storage— lower costs with at least the same durability, availability, safety, and performance as public cloud providers today — was preferred by 89.7% of respondents

To learn more about decentralized storage, download the IDC White Paper, Making the case for Decentralized Storage, sponsored by Protocol Labs.