Presented by Synology

Easily set up a private cloud for your business in 3 steps

Vicky Sidler

 ·19 Jul 2016

Setting up a safe and secure private cloud for your business is easier than you might think.

Private clouds are becoming a popular option for enterprises looking to manage the security of a mobile workforce.

As more and more employees move to the ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) trend, they need a reliable cloud syncing solution in order to access their projects no matter where they are.

However, since the hacking of popular cloud services like Dropbox and iCloud, many business owners want to pull their sensitive data out of these public clouds.

The best way to satisfy both requirements for mobility and security is to set up your own private cloud.

Here are 3 steps for setting up your private cloud.

1. Look at Network Attached Storage (NAS) options

Synology NAS servers provide an ideal private cloud solution for your business, both protecting your data and maximising your productivity.

NAS is a storage device in which you can place one or more hard drives that are connected to your office network.

Data stored on Synology NAS can then be accessed via network, either locally or remotely through the Internet, from PC, smartphone or tablet.

2. Build your private Dropbox

Once you have a NAS, Synology’s Cloud Station app will synchronize data across all your devices, such as computers, mobile devices, or other Synology NAS.

All you need to do is download the client on your end devices – much like Dropbox does.

As soon as you add a new file or save a change, it will be automatically updated on the other devices, allowing you to move between home and work, desktop and mobile, all while seamlessly working on the same file.

Other benefits of using Synology Cloud Station include:

• No annual subscription fees.
• Large storage space (of the NAS) for all employees.
• All data is physically under your control.
• Save up to 32 historical versions of each file, with the innovative “Intelliversioning” feature keeping as many significant changes as possible.
• Selectively sync to different devices, manually or automatically based on file format and size.
• Edit files offline, and modifications will be synced when your device is reconnected to the Internet.

This video reveals how easy it is to set up Cloud Station.

https://youtu.be/kZX8XK9Wy2Y

3. Back it all up

With Synology NAS, you can take syncing a step further and allow employees to back up their computers with the Cloud Station Backup software.

With syncing, any change or deletion you make to your files are applied to the copies on all other devices, ensuring that all locations have an identical set of files.

On the other hand, backing up means to copy files from one physical drive to another or to an online location. Even if the original file is deleted locally, you still have a copy in the backup destination.

It is easy for your employees to set up Cloud Station Backup themselves: simply download the client, and select which folders they want to back up. They can also back up the entire C or D drive.

Once it is up and running, every time you make a change to a file, it will immediately be backed up to Synology NAS.

Other benefits of using Cloud Station Backup include:

• Choose exactly what files and folders are backed up to your Synology NAS according to a wide range of filters, such as file type, name, or size.
• Once initial backup is complete, Cloud Station Backup makes incremental updates as files are added or modified, so the latest version is always safe and sound, without impacting system performance.
• Customizable file version history saves up to 32 point-in-time copies of each file, allowing you to go back in time and recover files that were overwritten or accidentally deleted.

Recommended Synology NAS model for SMBs – DS916+

DS916+ is a full-featured 4-drive-bay network attached storage solution optimised for intensive tasks that supports up to 32 TB.

It can be expanded by connecting with an expansion unit to 9 drives in total (up to 72 TB), so your business can expand its storage as it grows, without having to purchase everything upfront.

But DS916+ is much more than just a powerful storage, offering in addition 4K transcoding capability, a next-generation Btrfs file system, and more.

Powered by an Intel Pentium quad-core processor with AES-NI hardware encryption engine, DS916+ provides data encryption acceleration along with great performance, delivering 225.83 MB/s in reading and 209.35 MB/s in writing.

All Synology NAS models support the cloud and backup features mentioned above. See the whole product range here.

Click here for information on where to buy.