College Computer System

Another method of data storage is using the Middlesbrough College computer system, this system is free to students currently studying. The data can be stored on your personal drive which has an allowance of 5GB, but however there are all also public drives which have much more space but don't have the security of the private drive.

When placing data on your own person drive the security is very strong due to the files being password protected and an IT looking after the whole of the college computer system daily to ensure no faults and no data is lost. However, when placing data onto the public drive there is no security against other users as files placed onto the public drive are accessible to anyone within the college.

The hardware and software used for this form of data storage is basically the own college computers which are readily available in numerous locations of the college. Within college data can be accessed on both PC and MAC hardwares which can be useful having the ability to access files on both can be a disadvantages as most PCs within the college do not feature the same softwares as MACs; such as the Adobe programmes.
Connectivity is never an issue using this form of data storage as files on your own personal drive and the public drive are stored within each computers system meaning that logging in with your details will bring up the files in your own file space. This means you don't need to use any form of USB device, you can simply work on the files within your own account.

Private Account

Public Drive

The portability of the college computer system is a major disadvantage for this form of data storage, as you are only able to access the data within the college. There is an option to access your files from home using Blackboard. however this system is not as advanced as the stable system within the college and brings great difficulty logging in and finding the files with ease.

The scalability of the college computer system is very strong as the system is designed and built to be able to handle mass amounts of work within the college from numerous users at once. I have never found the system to run slowly in regards to accessing college files and backing up data before as the college have a dedicated IT team of technicians that work constantly to ensure the system runs effectively and can handle the amount of data stored.

To use the college system to store data is completely free as students are given a unique login at the beginning of the course year allowing them access to their college account to store files and work on different softwares.