Dear designer, Cloud should be your primary storage
2016 to 2019 cloud computing and storage is really growing, some company even introduce cloud gaming like Google Stadia, Playstation now, or Shadow and even streaming platform are huge. Internet connection is also getting better and faster with the new launch of the 5G network, and in my prediction on 2022 this trends will not going any slower at all.
Hmmm, what does this mean for you? well, the answer is quite obvious… that you should start using cloud storage as your primary working storage right now!
Why should you do that??? because right now are collaboration era. like you and your working partner may be in different countries and timezone and collaboration era can’t happen without fast internet, cloud computing, and storage. you can see what Adobe is doing on the last 4–5 years back, they start to introduce Creative Cloud and make us easier to share, collaborate and manage our work, or Figma with their full cloud web app with amazing collaboration design tools.
The pros and cons of using the cloud and local storage:
Cloud Storage:
Pros
- MacBook with 128GB it’s not a problem
- File Versioning
- Access anywhere
- Easy to share and collaborate
- offline or online use
- Autosave
Cons
- Subscription or extra cost
- Need Internet to sync
- Local Storage:
Local Storage:
Pros
- offline use
Cons
- 128GB Storage is a nightmare!
- Hardware failure
- virus, like ransomware
- Accidental delete
- Natural disaster
Tips & Trick to use cloud storage as the main working drive
- It’s not your archive drive
Don’t make cloud storage for archive storage. Besides the cost will be painful, also takes forever to upload so much TB of data like raw video footage and you need to use a local backup for that. but if you need archive compressed photo or video you can store it on Google Photos for free or Apple Photos although photos will take some iCloud space. for videos, you can upload to youtube and set it as private
- Always keep offline the files that you currently working on
It’s basic, you want to keep offline on files that you currently working on although it’s constantly back up to the cloud, you want the files available even you’re not connected to the internet.
- Free up space after done on working
You may want to start a new project, but last project has been taking too many spaces on your local drive. you can simply free up your last project by make it only available on the cloud
These features called differently on some cloud storage service, like “files on demand” from Microsoft Onedrive, “smart sync” from Dropbox, or “files stream” from Google Drive. you may need to check it if this feature is available or not on your current plan
- Sync only on wifi
you need to pause it when using a mobile hotspot. you don’t want suddenly sync huge files
Have other tips and tricks on using the cloud as primary storage?
Thanks for reading! I am Daris Ali Mufti a UI UX Designer based in Jakarta Indonesia. Still a lot to learn! any insights, differing opinions, or advice are always welcome. I am always open to having a dialogue with others and recognize that I am not an industry expert just yet.
