The Convenience Quotient Of Consumer Storage And Backup

The consumer backup and storage space has become increasingly crowded — and sophisticated — over the past 24 months. From burning a DVD to using a full-blown home server, there are a wide variety of options today, with varying features and degrees of sophistication for storing and backing up digital files. We used our Convenience Quotient methodology to determine how the various options stack up. After crunching the numbers, the external hard drive wins out, with the best combination of user benefits with the lowest barriers — but network-attached storage and cloud solutions are well positioned to grab market share as consumer needs evolve.