KitGuru Annual Awards 2014

Totally secure storage is a must
During the course of a year at KitGuru Labs, we see a lot of storage devices. All shapes, sizes and price points.

From single hybrid drives to upgrade PlayStations, through to multi-bay media streamers that deliver your HD content across the network, we see a huge cross-section of clever products.

For KitGuru, this category is almost exclusively the domain of NAS products. While it is possible to back up your data exclusively to the cloud or to rely on having multiple redundant drives inside a single PC or to use a simple external drive to use as a back-up, most of KitGuru's readers will be looking for the flexibility, security and expansion capability of a modern NAS product.

While units like the Thecus n-2310 can be competent enough, they are distinctly uninspiring. When the physical product design is un-inspiring, then the last thing you want to see is tired/dated looking software. We operate in a world where consumer demands change all the time and threats are constantly being dealt with. Old looking software gives the impression (unjust or not), that everything else might be behind the times.

So that brings us to the best of the best. Here, we're looking for good all round performance, solid construction and a completely updated software pack that includes intelligent caching, cloud management, streaming and security monitoring as standard. Ideally, we'd like it all in a unit that has at least 2 drive bays and we'd also like plenty of change from £200. As such, the Synology DS215J is a very complete choice.

Compared to last year's best NAS product, Synology's DS214, the DS215J is almost £50 cheaper – but is also slightly slower when it comes to large file transfer. That said, you can't get a better solution around the £159 mark. A pair of 3TB drives should set you back less than £150 and you have a complete storage/cloud/streaming solution for just over £300.

KitGuru's choice for Storage Product of the Year 2014 goes to the Synology DS215J. Read the review HERE.

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