There’s been lots of discussion regarding cloud versus closet reliability. I recall years ago when Microsoft ran a campaign about five “9”s referring to the reliability of cloud solutions. Despite a few remarkable exceptions, the last few years have quieted these claims by Microsoft, Google and even Apple. The web does fail. And in lots of different ways.
Here’s an interesting example:
How Box.com allowed a complete stranger to delete all my files
As you can see, even when all the hardware and all of the software work fine, there’s still the human element.
The best advice is still to keep your content close, or in the closet. This solution will give you better control, performance and flexibility. And if you back it up to the cloud…
Do it at least twice.