Like anything computer related the answer is it, depends on you computer, software, and programming skill level. These hardware solution are great for those without this skill set. For those with these skill sets, you can certain build your own cold storage solution which is likely as good or better than the hardware solutions you can purchase. The question is do you want to hand off this responsibility to some hardware device or do you want to roll your own solution? I won't buy any hardware device like this until the day come were I can purchase one at a local gas station.