This is a suggestion right up the alley of Western Digital “Empowering the World’s Data Infrastructures”, a low threshold entry point to high quality storage and backup.
I suggest a controller unit for multiple USB disks, with one or preferably many of the entry points, USB/ Network cable (fast), WiFi/Bluetooth (convenient)
Customer can use this controller as extention to new or existing USB disk(s) to improve capacity or redundancy of storage and backup.
By default the controller should attempt to create/syncronize a “precious” folder (Name is obviously just a suggestion), where content is mirrored between disks. Customer then needs no extra equipment, neither any particular skills, to have redundant storage. When customer is on the move one of the disks can just be unplugged and used as single source by any USB disk compatible device. When customer is back, any updates can easily be syncronized.
In addition (or as a separate product) an option to communicate over Internet can be added. Customer can then easily set up geo redundant backup. If encryption is supported the scope can be extended to content of even more private matters, and less trusted partners. (Person A has an encrypted syncronized folder on Person B storage, and vice versa. Nice to have is a limit to the capacity allowed). However encryption may not always be chosen. I might synchronize my music, my movies, my project documents etc, to someone not only allowed to read, but in some cases even allowed to write.
Quick and easy Internet URLs to content may also be an option. (File sharing for content not suitable for mail attachment is often an issue. If I can easily create a (temporary) link to a folder on my own storage grid it is easy to share bigger files)
Some capacity can also be reserved for versioning only available for controlled immutable jobs. If some ransomware should hit, the “precious”-area has at least one read-only version available of previous backups (nightly, weekly, monthly, yearly).
If this controller unit is separated from capacity the customer can easily scale up capacity, move disks, recover from crash. Customer can also easily upgrade to improved controller units without worrying about previous investments in disks. There is no vendor lock-in or single point of failure as all disks can be used as normal USB disks if accessed directly. If this is is also possible to synchronize over Internet a minor investment will vastly enhance the customer Data Infrastructure, and customers across the world will look to WD for how to secure their data.
