Why Is Moving Data So Expensive?

Many company representatives commit to moving massive amounts of data to a new location and anticipate numerous advantages. For example, a small business could become more competitive after transferring some content to the cloud. Managing data on-site is a labor-intensive exercise that often becomes prohibitively challenging.

Off-site service providers typically have the infrastructure needed to help customers scale up as their needs change. However, moving data elsewhere is not always the reasonably priced option people expect. That’s one reason why executives who are initially eager to proceed with migration are later shocked by the bill. 

Cost-control measures exist, and they’re easier to implement once people understand the factors that drive up migration prices. Here are four reasons why moving data is often such an expensive venture. 

Many people who need to move their data don’t realize there are associated costs with certain types of travel. Additionally, customers typically don’t realize their content doesn’t progress in the straightforward way they might imagine.

For example, people pay to move their data to Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as between Amazon’s various storage offerings. The same is true if clients need to move their information across multiple AWS availability zones or regions. 

A related issue is that people don’t always look for less-expensive alternatives that may be appropriate, particularly if they don’t need many additional services. They embrace the name recognition AWS enjoys and quickly assume it must be the best option, if not necessarily the most budget-friendly one in all cases. 

Individuals interested in moving their data often want to take advantage of related technologies, such as edge computing. It distributes the cloud’s functions and can be particularly advantageous for companies that often use Internet of Things (IoT) devices. 

However, as the number of internet-connected devices rises, so does the data they gather. Besides charging customers migration fees, companies have specific rates based on how much storage space a client requires. As a service collects and keeps more information, both those rates will increase. 

One study showed that 80% of enterprise customers that moved to the public cloud began transferring some of their data elsewhere within two years of the initial migration. In such cases, people often realize that splitting data between the cloud and on-premise facilities is more cost-effective. 

Moreover, people don’t always take the time to compress files and check for duplicates before moving their data.