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Seagate Cloud Storage Backups Unavailable for 2 Weeks

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Bad news for Seagate Cloud Storage users.

Cloud storage has its advantages and its disadvantages. The advantages are obvious: The ability to back up your data regularly, large amounts of storage space for a fraction of the cost you'd pay to buy it yourself, and the ability to access your content from anywhere. Of course, you have to take the bad along with the good, and using cloud storage means you have to trust a third party with your data, and also trust that the service is reliable. If they weren't already aware of this side of cloud storage, users of Seagate's Cloud Storage are learning all about it this week.

Seagate last night emailed users to inform them that its Seagate Dashboard cloud storage service is going through some updates that will render the upload capability of the service unavailable for "a few days" (over a fortnight). The company says that while the updates are processing and testing, scheduled backups will be suspended (or may result in errors) from today, October 3, through to October 18. Seagate told customers they should copy any files stored on the cloud to local storage. The company also says it is putting together 'a special offer' for customers to thank them for their patience but that won't come until next week. Full email below:

Hello Seagate Cloud Storage user,Seagate Dashboard cloud storage service is going through some updates. As a result, the upload capability of the cloud service will be unavailable for a few days (October 3rd - October 18th) while the updates are processing and testing. This means any backups scheduled during that time will be suspended or may result in errors.Data already stored on the cloud service is still available via https://cloudstorage.seagate.com/ and should be available throughout the update.To prepare for this update, it is recommended that any files stored on the cloud storage be copied to a local drive before October 3rd. Upload and backup capability are expected to resume on October 18th.For your patience we are preparing a special offer and will provide details of this offer in a separate email next week.Sincerely,Seagate Cloud Storage Team

The news comes hot on the heels of Nirvanix's surprise exit from the cloud storage market. The company emailed users earlier this week and told them it was shutting down on October 15. That doesn't give users much time to seek alternative solutions. It's been said that you should never trust a small company for cloud storage, but Seagate aint exactly small potatoes. We reached out to Seagate for some clarification on the current situation, and asked if the company felt customers' data was at risk (after all, the company said that upload capability and scheduled back ups would be affected, but also advised users download their data to local storage). Seagate hasn't been able to answer our questions so far, but we'll keep you posted once we find out more.

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11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Onus 03 October 2013 21:54
    Take a lesson.
    Reply
  • 1991ATServerTower 03 October 2013 23:30
    "But everything is going to the cloud", I've seen people decree.

    Have fun with that. I'm going to keep my data in my own house and backed up off site, where I can access it in case of fire, etc.

    If you want something done right, do it yourself.....
    Reply
  • SuckRaven 03 October 2013 23:44
    LOL. A Cloudburst !
    Reply
  • amoralman 04 October 2013 00:14
    You would leave your personal information in a book laying around, but sending it to a company that can keep it safe for you makes sense? But the worse thing is not having access to your data when you need it, because the internet, their internet, or anywhere in between is down. Oh, and don't forget the cloud is the solution to turn owned-software into owned-licenses, where you don't own any product but the right to use it, as they see please.

    Ban the clouds, please.
    Reply
  • stevejnb 04 October 2013 00:37
    11650400 said:
    "But everything is going to the cloud", I've seen people decree.

    Have fun with that. I'm going to keep my data in my own house and backed up off site, where I can access it in case of fire, etc.

    If you want something done right, do it yourself.....

    Actually, many of us are having a *lot* of fun with that. I'm with several of you on one front - I keep all of my data double backed up - at least - on hard drives in my house. I also have all of my most important things double-double backed up on flash sticks, one of which I keep in my wallet.

    That being said, cloud storage with streaming options and seamless application access is *bloody handy* in a lot of situations, and just plain fun in others. When I'm on the go I can access all of my movies, comics, and work documents without having to pack a portable hard drive around - all I need is wifi and I'm all good. In the event of a fire or theft, I have copies of all of my data somewhere outside of my house.

    Everything on the cloud? Heck no... That's putting the integrity of your date in someone else's. Conversely, everything double - or even quadruple - backed up in my home? One fire and it's all gone, unless you're stashing a backup of all your stuff in your friend's place or something.

    Thinking the "everything on the cloud" philosophy is problematic is best is fine, but don't pretend like it's not a *very* useful tool. I would hate going back before Google Drive and Skydrive at this point.
    Reply
  • dgingeri 04 October 2013 01:00
    This is going to cost them big time business. I don't think too many people are going to trust them again after this.
    Reply
  • CrArC 04 October 2013 08:56
    "large amounts of storage space for a fraction of the cost you'd pay to buy it yourself"

    Uh, isn't it vastly more expensive? Or am I just extremely out of date on these things?
    Reply
  • catfishtx 04 October 2013 14:47
    You nailed it stevejnb. The cloud can be very useful for an extra layer of protection and convenience.
    Reply
  • Onus 04 October 2013 15:00
    The Cloud is indeed convenient, but it has a price. I would never put anything in "The Cloud" that I would not assume will someday become public knowledge, regardless of what any privacy policy says today. I would never think of putting any vital data only in the Cloud, even if I don't care who sees it, because of the possibility of interruption.
    It's a tool, and while it may be nice to have for some things, it isn't the right one for every job, nor is it good to use alone.
    Reply
  • bnot 05 October 2013 00:59
    Seagate should give free disk to every user to back up the data.
    Reply