As businesses grow, they often outgrow traditional onsite IT infrastructure. They start looking into public clouds as a way to reduce costs while increasing flexibility and scalability. 

But what does that mean for storage? What are the different types of storage solutions available, how do they work together, and where should companies focus their efforts? 

In this article, we'll discuss common challenges associated with deploying storage in the cloud and ways to mitigate those risks. 

We'll also cover best practices for designing and implementing storage as a service strategies. 

What Is Storage as a Service? 

Storage as a Service, or STaaS, is cloud storage that you lease from a Cloud Service Provider. With STaaS, you pay a monthly fee to access your storage space, and you don't have to worry about configuring servers, managing backups, or worrying about how long your data will remain accessible. 

Storage as a Service (STaaS) is a type of cloud computing where you pay a monthly fee to store information online, either in the public cloud or in your own private cloud. With STaaS, you don't have to worry about managing the underlying technology, including servers, networking equipment, and data centers. Instead, you simply pay for what you use. 

The term "cloud computing" refers to a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. 

With STaaS, you are paying for storage capacity and bandwidth, rather than buying physical hard drives or running out of space on local computers. When you use STaaS, you're renting storage capacity from a third party, similar to how you might lease a car or apartment.  

However, unlike those traditional leases, there is no upfront payment for the storage capacity. In addition, you retain ownership of the data stored within your account. 

Here are some examples of common uses for STaaS: 

1. Multimedia files, photos, music, movies—you name it. 
2. Backup and archive data. 
3. Disaster recovery. 

The benefits of STaaS include: 

• You're able to focus on growing your business rather than spending time on IT maintenance. 
• Your data is always backed up and protected. 
• You can easily expand capacity as needed. 
• You can quickly adapt to changes in demand. 

How Does Storage as a Service Work? 

Storage as a service (STaaS) offers a way to rent disk space on remote servers. This type of cloud storage differs from traditional file sharing sites like Dropbox because it provides a dedicated server that allows multiple clients to work simultaneously.  

In addition, some STaaS providers offer a service level agreement (or SLA), which establishes conditions for using data storage. These include uptime and read/writes per second. 

The pricing model for STaaS varies depending on whether it is offered by a provider that rents out capacity based on quantity or one that offers a service level agreement (which we'll discuss later). 

Data Center Storage Security 

Many customers assume that maintaining a traditional private cloud or on- premises data center storage is the most effective way to provide security and control over their sensitive data. But what happens when you outsource your storage solution to a third party?  

For one thing, it makes it harder to monitor and manage attacks against your system. And even though you may trust the vendor, there are still many ways for attackers to gain access to your data. 

In fact, according to Gartner, the number of breaches involving cloud-based solutions increased by nearly 50%. This trend isn't surprising given the rise of STaaS vendors and the increasing popularity of public cloud platforms. In addition, the sheer size of some STaaS providers' customer bases creates a massive attack surface for hackers. 

So how do STaaS providers protect themselves? They take a multi-pronged approach that includes: 

• Dedicating personnel and resources to monitoring and mitigating threats
• Developing strong relationships with their clients
• Implementing strict policies and procedures around client information
• Ensuring that their infrastructure meets industry standards for security and 
• Using encryption technology to prevent unauthorized access to data stored within their systems. 

Maximizing Your Value from STaaS 

The cost of public cloud storage continues to drop rapidly, making it increasingly attractive for businesses and consumers alike. And while the benefits are clear—accessible resources, flexibility, and scalability—there’s still work to do in terms of understanding what those benefits mean in practice. 

While public cloud storage providers offer the ability to store large amounts of information securely online, there are many things you need to consider beyond price alone. Data security, data integrity, and availability are key considerations when choosing a cloud storage solution.