When it comes to managing construction project information, keeping data safe can be a struggle.
Are you Team PC with everything saved on your personal computer or Team Cloud using shared files and folders?
If you’re still printing documents, grappling with A2 drawings, and storing your files in a dusty old filing cabinet, it may be time for an upgrade.
According to Emerson, 30% of initial data created during design and construction phases is being lost by project closeout.
So, when it comes to managing your information and data, which is the safest?
In the cloud corner, we have a connected network of servers. Typically, thousands of servers are held in a secure data center, where information is stored and accessible from any computer connected to that cloud’s network.
In the PC corner, files are usually saved in a folder system on your desktop. Here, the only copy remains on your hard drive unless you manually save it on an external hard drive or send it via email.
Let’s put these two systems through their paces. We won’t pull any punches to dig into critical criteria when it comes to how best to securely manage your construction project information.
Round 1: Ensure Project Information Isn’t Exposed
To ensure the security of your construction project information, project managers and owners need to make sure invaluable information doesn’t become exposed to outside threats—malware infections or ransomware threats.
Keeping project information on your PC could leave you vulnerable to such threats. One dodgy email, one suspicious link, or even one unsecure website could allow cybercriminals to infiltrate your data and access all your project information.
The cloud offers you an extra layer of protection.
According to Norton, the digital security experts, servers are usually located in warehouses that most workers can’t access. All information stored on these servers is encrypted, meaning they are scrambled, making it far harder for cybercriminals to access.
Cloud providers also use firewalls to help further protect your project information. Here, rules are applied to all traffic coming into a network. These rules filter out suspicious traffic. This additional security measure makes your priceless information harder to access and prevents any nasty cyber viruses from slipping through.
Round 2: Keep Sensitive Information Confidential
Construction project information usually contains sensitive data and information that needs to remain confidential.
When using your computer, this is not really an issue. You save the file in a folder and maybe make the folder password protected for some added peace of mind. However, things can get dicey when the time comes to share this information with the wider team and those on the construction site.
Using third-party file-sharing or email can be risky. Your email could be forwarded multiple times without your knowledge, meaning once sensitive information is now available for all to see.
When sending information through the cloud, however, you are more in control.
You can decide who is sent the information and what type of access they have—read-only, can make edits, can share the link. You can also check up on previously sent documents to see who has since been granted access.
Here, confidential information remains confidential. Only those who should see sensitive information have access.
Round 3: Make Sure Your Files are Backed-Up
Backing up your information usually means manually transferring files from your PC to multiple external hard drives and USBs—depending on their storage capacity.
This is a long and arduous process which many of us forget to do. Meaning if something were to go wrong—your PC suddenly breaks down or, even worse, gets stolen or misplaced—valuable information is lost forever. The same is true for your backup USB. Yes, the information is there but on which one, and where is it?
With the cloud, it does the hard work for you.
The majority of cloud-storage providers practice redundancy. This means they offer a built-in backup for your information. So, if anything were to happen, you would be covered.
With Asite, our data centers command a world-class disaster recovery service model. Here, they deliver failover in the event of an unplanned incident, natural or human-induced, by seamlessly transferring operations to a reliable backup and ensuring the seamless recovery of data.
And the Winner Is… Team Cloud
Well, it’s a knockout! Managing your construction project in the cloud is the clear winner.
Given its superior security functionality, dependability, and how it facilitates secure collaboration between the widely dispersed supply chain, it’s no surprise that a report by CITE and Dropbox found 75% of construction companies use cloud storage.
So, is it time to retire that complex folder system on your desktop and join your peers in the cloud?
Take a look at how Asite, a holder of the International Standard Organization (ISO) 27001 security certification—the global gold standard in information security—can help keep your construction project secure/safe. Learn more now.
