Decentralized vs Centralized Cloud Storage: What’s the Difference?

Introduction

Cloud storage is a convenient way to store digital data and access it when needed. It has several advantages over traditional methods like on-premise servers: You can access your files from anywhere, share them with others seamlessly, and you can scale capacity at the click of a button. With the rise of big tech monopolies like Google and Amazon—and the all too common headlines regarding the leakage, sale, and abuse of users’ data by hackers—many people wonder whether there’s a better option out there.

Why decentralization matters

The benefits of decentralization are numerous: it ensures that your data is distributed and redundant. No single company or entity controls your data–and with the Jackal protocol–you can maintain ownership, privacy, and granular control over who has access to your data.

The key difference between centralized services and decentralized ones is that the former relies on a single control point where all the information is stored, while the latter use multiple storage locations so that no one person or entity can have sole control over a user’s sensitive data.

Decentralized solutions also allow users to share their files with others via peer-to-peer networks rather than relying on central servers or other third parties as intermediaries. The Jackal Protocol builds on this with tools for collaborating or sharing your encrypted files with friends while still maintaining privacy at a maximum security posture–something which could not be achieved through traditional cloud storage models since they often do not offer any form of encryption protection whatsoever.

Decentralization is key to data protection, sharing, ownership, and blockchain-based decentralized applications.

The decentralized cloud storage model allows blockchain-based applications to maintain the core values of decentralization at the storage layer. Decentralized solutions are safer, more secure, and usually more cost-efficient than their centralized counterparts.

Decentralization is the key to data protection and privacy in a world where hackers are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities in systems that store sensitive information. A decentralized system places autonomy back into users’ hands—they create their own keys so only they have access to their own data.

Centralized services like Dropbox and AWS provide convenience but also expose themselves to hacking threats from centralized chokepoints of failure and loose access controls. An example of this is the 2021 data leak of Twitch, in which a breach of AWS compromised the entire source code of the streaming platform. This resulted in the exposure of all creator payouts going back to 2019, proprietary SDKs and internal AWS services used by Twitch, and all of the company’s internal cybersecurity red teaming tools. This is just one of the thousands of hacks that happen every year.

Conclusion

The decentralized cloud storage industry is well on its way to revolutionizing the way individuals and organizations store, manage and share data.

At the most basic level, the argument for decentralized vs centralized cloud storage comes down to security posture, ownership, and redundancy; there is an inherent risk when entrusting all of one’s data to a singular destination. With peer-to-peer storage networks like Jackal Protocol, you can increase your digital privacy and cybersecurity posture without sacrificing ease of use. For the first time in the cloud, you can actually own your files again.