Although storage capacities continue to increase and evolve constantly, one fact remains unchanged. That is the need to store data. Of particular concern is the safe and long-term storage of that data. This is an issue that dates back to the days of storing information in analog form (such as on hard copy) up to and including the digital form (on computer hard drives).
It’s 2025, and the question revolving this matter is still, “What is the best and safest way to store digital data?”
Before we dig deeper into this, it is important to point out that there is no 100-percent fail-proof method of storing records of any kind that will keep them completely safe. With this in mind, I will now review several pros and cons associated with digital storage, looking at different devices and platforms. Hopefully, this will give you the information you need to make an informed decision to meet your specific needs.
Conventional Hard Drives
These are found in most desktop computers and take moments to spin up when activated.
Pros
The pros are rather obvious here. The key factor of a conventional hard drive is the capacity it is capable of holding. The latest drives available from Seagate are 36TB in size, and when you think about it, that is a massive amount of data storage for a single device. Another factor is the price of these monster-sized drives.
Cons
Hard drives fail more often than manufacturers claim they won’t, which means longevity and durability are issues here. In other words, storing all your data on a single hard drive with the hope that the data is safe forever is not what I would consider the best strategy.
What You Should Consider
Data recovery should be top of mind here. Regular hard drives are more likely to be recovered successfully than SSDs. Although recovering a mechanically failed 36TB hard drive – even if possible – will cost you thousands of dollars. That is a little steep for most of us.
Solid State Hard Drives
These are known to be both super quiet and super fast, as the technology behind these keeps invading the HD space. Originally, these were meant to push aside their older brother, the HDDs. But here we are.
Pros
You can’t deny that the fast performance is nothing short of attractive and efficient.
Cons
Here’s the downside: SSDs have a much shorter lifespan due to their limited write cycles. They are also more expensive than the same capacity hard drives. For example, a 10TB SSD is going to cost you easily twice the price of the same capacity HDD.
What You Should Consider
Data recovery on these can be a nightmare, if even possible. This is because of several things, including on-board encryption, bad controllers, refurbished NAND flash chips, and I could go on. Data recovery from an SSD can run up to triple what it costs for the same service on a conventional hard drive.
Cloud Storage
There are mostly pros with cloud storage. However, one con stands out, and that is the monthly fees associated with storing data on the cloud. If you need large capacity storage, expect it to dent your budget somewhat. Although big-name players like Google and Dropbox guarantee the safety of your data, it will cost you for that privilege. Imagine what it costs them to maintain backups or backups of backups.
TAPE Storage
Believe it or not, this ancient technology is still in use and is in the arsenal used by both Google and Dropbox.
Pros
This is cost-effective. LTO tape provides a much cheaper price per TB compared to other storage options, such as hard drives or cloud storage. This is important if you have large amounts of data and seek long-term retention. LTO tapes also offer durability and longevity as they are designed for long-term storage. If properly stored, they can last for decades.
Cons
Conventional equipment is not required, such as expensive tape drives or software. They are much slower to read and write times are, um, lengthy. All this means is you can’t browse your tape files just by clicking the C: or D: disk drives.
M-Disk
This is becoming a controversial contender that comes into the arena with an interesting background.
Pros
The manufacturer claims (boldly) that these can last up to 1,000 years and are made to withstand the most extreme environments. M-Discs are excellent for preserving data.
Cons
Capacity and price per disk. The largest capacity disk is currently 100GB.
What You Need To Know
Keep in mind that this is a controversial piece of technology. It nearly ended up under the radar, and chances are that most of you reading this have never heard of them. Verbatim currently sells them with the M-Disc brand, but according to online chatter, these are not the same as the ones that were produced by Millenniata. Whether or not they boast the same durability and longevity can’t be fully verified at this time, so we only have Verbatim’s claims and statements to go by.
Conclusion
Although there are many different ways to store data, cloud storage seems to still be the most effective, durable, and long-term. If you require safety, this is your best option, followed by regular spinning hard drives. Naturally, you should still back up your files on several other devices to increase the odds of keeping your data safe and secure. This will also help prevent you from spending money on data recovery.