Understanding the network hard drive
Many of those in the business world have been dealing with the network hard drive for many years, and while those on the administrative and IT side of the business generally have a good understanding of the concept, many end users do not. It is important, therefore for the IT staff at any business to educate users on the importance of using the networked drives for storing their important documents. Many end users do not understand how important it is to keep their most valuable documents on the network hard drive, and it is often difficult to get them to do so. The latest version of Microsoft Office has certainly helped, since it sets the default save path to the user's personal networked drive. There are a number of reasons why users in a business environment should save their files to the network, including security, convenience and the ability to recover lost files. The first reason saving files to the network is so important is that they will typically be safer there than stored on the hard drive of the computer. When the files are stored on the user's network drive for instance, only a handful of people will have access to them. If, on the other hand they are stored locally on the hard drive, chances are anyone who logs on to that PC will have full access to those documents. It is easy to see how storing documents on the network can make them more secure. This is of particular importance when it comes to sensitive business documents, or documents containing Social Security numbers, account numbers or other sensitive customer information. When files are stored on a network hard drive they are also easier to access from anywhere in the company. If the files are stored locally, they will generally only be accessible from that workstation. If, however they are stored on the network drive, the files can be accessed from anywhere by a user with the proper access. This makes it much easier to collaborate, share ideas and update documents. This sharing and updating of documents is one of the critical factors that led to the networked hard drive solution. Last but not least, storing critical files on the networked drive can make it possible to recover files that have been accidentally deleted or damaged. If the file is stored on the network, chances are there is a backup of that file somewhere, and the network administrator of the division or the company should be able to recover that file quickly. If, however the file is stored locally and the hard drive crashes, it may be impossible to get it back. These are all valid reasons for keeping important files only on the network, and it is important for those in charge of a company's computers to properly educate all members of the staff about the difference between a file stored locally on the computer hard drive and the file stored in the safety and security of the company network.
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