Should I get a NAS system for my home or office?

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or home users who are considering a NAS system, you should consider the purpose of having a NAS system in your home or office. Read more below about the available NAS systems in the market and what is the most suitable for your business or personal needs.

Differences between USB device and NAS system

To start off, we can compare the differences between a USB device and a NAS system.

USB devices require a USB port to be attached to whereas a NAS system allows you to access your files wherever your are, from multiple devices that can share and store data remotely and externally. A USB device can also be used as a media center storage for music files and videos and is accessible via devices such as computers, phones, tablets or even TVs.

Despite being a cloud storage, it is definitely slower than a NAS system and restricted to a single account and user. It poses a problem when it comes to frequent access and updating large amount of data.

However, on the flip side, a NAS system is more expensive compared to a USB device. Apart from storage space, NAS has a network interface and controller that allows the server to run the required files. To add on, a NAS system has additional features like more drive enclosures, RAID, VPN and media file server. All the features will contribute to the cost of a NAS system, which results to some high end NAS system costing a premium of above SGD$300.

Do you need a NAS system?

The most important question would be whether you do need a NAS system. Majority of consumers would not require one and it is not recommended for users who only have 1-3 devices, as an external USB drive would be easier to store and share data. However, it will be more useful when you have to share a large amount of data between multiple devices.

A NAS is most ideal for users who need a large amount of data that can be easily accessed between multiple devices. Users who do not wish to handle their data from a single location or multiple external drives will find a NAS system useful as well. Having a central server allows devices to have access to the hosted files and some NAS system also support a media server feature.

We have a range of NAS system that you can take a look at here

If you're looking for an USB drive instead of a NAS system, you can consider these!

For any enquiries or feedback, contact us at care@compaqs.com or (+65) 6262 0402.