The 6 Best Network Attached Storage (NAS) Devices for Small Business

Managing vast amounts of business-critical data is no easy task for SMB IT admins. As companies embrace digital transformation, crucial files are scattered across on-premise servers, laptops, desktops, mobile devices – not to mention the cloud. Network attached storage (NAS) consolidates all that data into a single hardened location while unlocking simpler collaboration and ironclad protection of a small business‘s digital assets.

According to KPMG, 93% of companies that lose their data center for 10+ days file for bankruptcy within a year. For SMBs, downtime is incredibly costly.

This definitive NAS buying guide will explore:

• Key benefits of a NAS for securing SMB data
• Must-have NAS features for business use cases
• 6 top-rated NAS devices purpose-built for small business

Let‘s get started!

Why Should Small Businesses Invest in NAS?

Before getting to NAS hardware recommendations, understanding the primary benefits of network attached storage specifically for SMBs will help set requirements as we evaluate options:

Centralized Storage

A NAS gives SMBs a dedicated, consolidated place to store files once scattered across disconnected local hard drives and machines. Instead of digging through document folders on various laptops, everything is searchable in one place.

Automated Backups

Backing up laptops and devices individually is tedious. A NAS centralizes backups for the entire business onto a redundant RAID-protected storage pool. Never worry about losing files again.

Enhanced Collaboration

With large amounts of data fragmented across local machines, collaborating across business teams is hard. With a NAS, every authorized employee can connect over the network or internet to the same set of data.

Anytime Accessibility

The ability to connect from anywhere – like at home or travel – to quickly access business files is invaluable. NAS devices excel at remote access through VPNs, mobile syncing and cloud integration.

Air-Tight Security

Cyberthreats are a huge risk for SMBs, where a breach can instantly down the business. NAS operating systems provide advanced security tools like encryption, permissions, versioning, and snapshots to lock down sensitive documents.

Flexibility and Scalability

Storage needs change, and data growth can be explosive. The modular drive bay design of most NAS devices lets you expand storage capacity on-demand just by adding or upgrading hard drives.

For SMB IT admins struggling to connect the data dots across a modern workforce while keeping crucial files protected, a NAS is a multifaceted solution. According to Statista, 93% of companies report improved capacity to meet data growth and retention goals after adding network attached storage.

Now let‘s explore the top NAS system options specifically tailored to conquering small business data sprawl.

Shopping for a SMB NAS? Key Features to Demand

While basic data storage is table stakes for a NAS, you‘ll want advanced capabilities that specifically cater to modern business use cases. Here are some must-have features to factor while comparing NAS devices:

Purpose-Built OS – A NAS tailored for business and SMBs at the software level is vital. Prioritize sophisticated operating systems that offer native backup routines, permissions, encryption rather than basic barebones storage.

Drive Bays for Growth – Even if your current storage need is modest, having 6-8+ drive bays allows adding additional drives down the road to massively scale out raw capacity. Larger NAS enclosures are superior for long term growth.

RAM & CPU Resources – More powerful processors and excess memory enable supporting 20-30 employees accessing shared folders, running VMs, surveillance monitoring and daily backups happening in parallel.

High Speed Networking – Single gigabit ethernet on low-cost NAS options gets maxed out quicky. Multi-gig and 10 gigabit ethernet ports allow for major throughput as your workforce demands faster access.

Mix of File Protocols – Supporting modern protocols like fast SMB transfer for Windows users alongside AFP and NFS for seamless Mac and Linux access ensures compatibility across worker machines.

Hybrid/Cloud Capabilities – As SMBs utilize cloud resources like Microsoft 365 in parallel, having a NAS that enables simple backups of cloud data down to an on-premise box simplifies management while adding an air-gapped backup.

Business App Ecosystem – The most useful SMB NAS devices have their own app stores for enabling CMS hosting, surveillance recording, Dev tools and custom apps that extend functionality. More apps mean more use cases a NAS can conquer.

Now equipped with a better understanding of advanced NAS functionality beyond basic file storage that proves useful for actual business workflows, let‘s dive into six great options across different SMB scales and budgets.

SMB NAS Recommendation #1: Synology DS220j

Best Low Cost NAS for Individuals & Very Small Teams

It‘s true, the most affordable NAS options trade horsepower for big cost savings. But Synology‘s DS220j impresses even at the low end for less demanding SMB environments. If you need only basic file sharing and backups for 1-5 employees, it fits the bill nicely while saving you serious cash.

Cost-cutting is focused on CPU and memory, but the respected DSM OS still provides a surprising amount of business-centric offerings like cloud backup integration, permissions and even some virtualization use thanks to Docker app support. By going diskless and adding your own drives, you can ramp up storage down the road.

Overall for very small teams on tight budgets, scoring Synology DSM capabilities for a few hundred dollars is stellar no matter how you slice it!

Key Specifications:

• CPU: Dual Core 1.0 GHz CPU
• Memory: 512MB (expandable to 6GB)
• Drive Bays: 2 x 3.5"/2.5” SATA HDD (diskless)
• Max Internal Storage: 32TB (with optional DX517 expansion unit)
• LAN Ports: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
• RAID Support: SHR, Basic, JBOD, 0, 1
• eMMC: 256MB

If your SMB team consists of just you and a few close collaborators, the DS220j keeps costs minimal without huge compromises.

SMB NAS Recommendation #2: TerraMaster F2-221

Honorable Mention: Low Cost 2-Bay NAS

The TerraMaster F2-221 gives the Synology DS220j a run for its money if your priorities are maximizing drive capacity flexibility while still sticking to a stringent budget. The F2-221 supports the largest capacity SATA hard drives up to 18TB, allowing for a max of 36TB storage with just two bays.

And while the CPU and memory specs dip slightly behind the DS220j, excellent SMB extras like deduplication and compression help maximize utilization of the large disks you‘ll cram inside. Business admins will also appreciate the TOS 5 operating system and hybrid cloud sync capabilities.

Overall for solos and microbusinesses, using two 18TB hard drives with the Terramaster F2-221‘s excellent data optimization makes for an incredibly low cost, high density NAS combination punching above its weight!

Key Specifications:

• CPU: Quad Core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex
• Memory: 1GB DDR4
• Drive Bays: 2 x SATA 3.5”/2.5” (up to 18TB)
• Max Internal Storage: 36TB raw
• LAN Ports: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
• RAID Support: 0, 1, Single
• SSD Cache Support: Yes (M.2 SATA)

If you crave massive disk capacity but have an itty-bitty budget, the TerraMaster F2-221 is a unique fit for the job.

SMB NAS Recommendation #3: QNAP TS-253D

Best Value SMB NAS

QNAP‘s TS-253D offers an unparalleled mix of user-friendly NAS management, solid performance and excellent business features at very reasonable midrange pricing. The slick QuTS Hero operating system enables handy small business offerings like team folders, cloud sync, hybrid cloud backups and VMs/container Station.

Eight gigabytes of memory keeps the AMD quad core processor humming for most moderate SMB workloads. Four drive bays allow ample storage now, with a PCIe slot ready for future M.2 SSD caching addons to remove transfer bottlenecks. Add tremendous connectivity like HDMI local output plus a pair of 2.5GbE ports, and the TS-253D checks all the boxes.

If budget is flexible and you desire business-specific capabilities but don‘t need extreme capacity or throughput, QNAP‘s TS-253D strikes a perfect balance.

Key Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2300X 4-Core 3.5 GHz
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 (2 x 4GB)
• Drive Bays: 4 x 3.5” SATA 6Gb/s
• Max Internal Storage: 64TB
• LAN Ports: 2 x 2.5GbE RJ45
• RAID Support: RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 + JBOD
• PCIe Slot: Gen2 x4 (for caching or 10GbE)

With its polished SMB software experience and well-rounded hardware capabilities, the TS-253D is a jack of all trades punching way above its price.

SMB NAS Recommendation #4: Synology DS1621xs+

Most Powerful Desktop NAS for SMBs

The Synology DS1621xs+ sits at the intersection of performance, protection and robust business capabilities that growing SMB IT environments demand. Six total cores on an AMD Ryzen chip drive excellent speeds in heavy sequential and multi-user workloads – while 12 drive bays provide ample capacity that can scale into hundreds of terabytes.

Constant background integrity checks via Btrfs file system safeguard data integrity, while snapshots allow easy point-in-time restorations. Four ethernet ports (dual 10GbE SFP+ and dual Gigabit) provide versatile connectivity for complex networks. Combine all that with DSM‘s expansive business feature set and you have a formidable NAS to anchor expanding company storage.

Key Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen V1500B 6-Core 2.2 GHz
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 (2 x 4GB)
• Drive Bays: 12 x 3.5"/2.5” SATA HDD/SSD
• Max Internal Storage: 288TB
• LAN Ports: 2 x 10GbE SFP+ , 2 x 1GbE RJ-45
• RAID Support: SHR, Basic, JBOD, 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
• PCIe: Gen 3 x8 slot

With performance that never quits, bold capacity for years of accelerating SMB data expansion, and Nucleus security safeguards – the DS1621xs+ is the ultimate centralized NAS hub ready to anchor an agile small business.

SMB NAS Recommendation #5: QNAP TVS-872XU

Best High Capacity Rackmount NAS

The QNAP TVS-872XU delivers no-compromise performance and huge storage potential in a compact rack form factor that slots perfectly into full depth server racks prevalent among SMBs. Eight SATA bays house 80TB+ locally, while five more PCIe slots allow for caching SSDs or networking cards.

A powerful Ryzen 1600 processor and DDR4 memory can hammer typical SMB workloads with bandwidth to spare, while also shouldering the flexible QuTS Hero OS that centralizes backups, enables cross platform file access, facilitates comprehensive search and bolsters airtight security protections. Coupled with a rugged steel chassis and redundant power supplies, the TVS-872XU brings robust enterprise-like capabilities while staying budget friendly.

Key Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Hex core 3.6 GHz
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 (2 x 4GB) ECC
• Drive Bays: 8 x 3.5” SATA 6Gb/s
• Max Internal Storage: 80TB+
• LAN Ports: 2 x 10GbE RJ45, 2 x Gigabit
• RAID Support: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 + JBOD
• PCIe Slots: 5 x Gen3 x8 lanes

For traditional rack-based server room expansions, the TVS-872XU packs awesome performance and scalable NAS management in compact 2U rack-mountable form.

SMB NAS Recommendation #6: Synology FS3600

Best High Capacity Hybrid NAS

The innovative Synology FS3600 brings SAN-like scale to SMBs with an astounding max capacity up to 3.84 petabytes! Making this epic storage potential far more cost effective and performant is a hybrid system design leveraging SAS/SATA SSD dual controller architecture to accelerate capacities spanning from massive SATA HDDs.

60 drive bays split across dual 30 bay enclosures soak up gigantic SATA disks cost effectively, while also housing some SAS SSDs for caching hot data thanks to built-in tiering intelligence. Throw in powerful Xeon internals, dual PCIe slots and Synology‘s robust DSM OS, and the FS3600 uniquely melds bleeding edge throughput and responsiveness to mountainous pools of HDD capacity at a reasonable sticker price certain to fit most SMB budgets.

Key Specifications:

• CPU: Intel Xeon 6 core 2.2Ghz
• Memory: 16GB DDR4 ECC
• Drive Bays: 60 x 3.5"/2.5" SAS/SATA
• Max Internal Storage: 3,840TB
• SSD Cache Support: 8 x SAS SSD slots
• LAN Ports: 4 x 25GbE (SFP28) + 4 x 10GbE (SFP+)
• RAID Support: SHR, Basic, JBOD, 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
• PCIe Slots: 2 x Gen 3 x16

The revolutionary FS3600 pioneers a best-of-both-worlds approach fusing SSD responsiveness and SAS connectivity with inexhaustible HDD capacities at supercost effective dollar-per-gigabyte ratios – an unbeatable value prop for storage intensive SMB applications.

Final Thoughts

Evolving modern small business IT infrastructure with network attached storage addresses multiple challenges – from centralizing data spread across devices for enhanced collaboration and remote access, to introducing advanced backup capabilities, maximizing storage utilization through powerful OS functionality like deduplication and compression, and securing businesses against risk factors like ransomware via next-gen security protocols standard in NAS appliances.

According to IDC, SMBs integrating NAS solutions experience 75% quicker data recovery times and effort reduced by 50% over traditional server infrastructure.

Hopefully exploring both key NAS capabilities that align with typical SMB use cases along with specific advice and options for tailoring units to your unique environment proves helpful. With SMB data expected to multiply 50X over the next half decade, proactively building a storage strategy on the NAS foundation detailed here is one of the wisest infrastructure investments a small business in the digital era can make.

What benefits or use cases are you most eager to enable at your company by adding dedicated network attached storage? I‘m happy to offer any additional advice as you navigate the options and plan your SMB NAS upgrade path.