Justifaction report III

Evaluation of Alternatives

The main reason for this investigation was to evaluate the various computer disk storage currently employed at Earn and Young Head office, identify and evaluate alternatives, and also the effectiveness of the various storage methods. The investigation team carried out the study in various ways including; interviewing all members of staff that currently have access to the company network and computers. The team also inspected the entire computer network of earn and Young including the storage and indexing methods used at the company, and also consulting the company that supplied computer accessories for the network through reading product catalogues and also calling the companies.

The team found that the company usually relies in portable, external hard disks as the main data storage device. All employees using computers at the work place is provided with a portable disk in order to store data in the computer network. It was also established that data in these portable disks is not backed up or duplicated regularly. This means that data at the head office is always at the risk of data loss since it is not backed up or duplicated regularly. Data loss at Earn and Young will lead to data security compromise and may lead to heavy losses and low public confidence by customers. The company is in possession of several backup discs which are stored in plastic containers in the personnel office, where the portable discs are also stored (Morley & Parker, 2014). This exposes company data to the risk of data loss that may result in case of disaster or security breach at the firm. Insecure storage of backup drives also exposes company data to third parties who may access the personnel office. The personnel also leave their portable discs in their desktops during the day or night time. If the computer is connected to the internet and hackers have access to the company network, then they can easily access company data in the disc connected to the online computers.

In order to improve data storage at earn and Young there are several alternatives. First of all to safeguard data employees should back up information in their desktops daily at the end of each working day.

Earn & Young should seriously consider two options; investing in a data server and server room to automatically backup files, and also investing in cloud technology. The company also needs to set up a server’s room which will be well secured with access by authorized personnel only. These servers will include data server which will act as backup for data in the network. All computers will be linked to this server to ensure regular backup of data at the company. This room should also be fireproof to protect data in case of fire at the premise. Employees should also not leave their portable connections during breaks or at night to avoid unauthorized access to data in the discs. Data should also be categorized in order of confidentiality and importance to avoid exposure to malicious employees. The company can also hire the services of a cloud computing firm to store its data in cloud. This is one secure method for data protection and storage.

Analysis of Alternatives

The company also needs to set up a server room which will host the data server. The data server is very effective since it links all computers and network and automatically backs up files in the network. This will require high capital investment to purchase the data server, configure it to the network, and establishment of a secure fireproof server room (Groh, 2012).

The company should also consider investing in cloud technology for its data storage and security needs. The company will hire a reliable cloud computing provider. Cloud computing offers data storage in a secure environment and one only pays on how much they use. These companies charge between $3000-15000 and includes services such as hosting, interfaces and access of network from anywhere. The initial cost to implement this service is minimal but the service reliable and the future of computing. It is also protected from known natural and manmade disasters that may cause data loss or network failure such as fire, floods, hurricanes and typhoons.

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References

Groh, F. (2012). "Gamification: State of the art definition and utilization." San Francisco: Bates Press.

Morley, D., & Parker, C. (2014). Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive (15th ed.). New York: Cengage Learning.