BLOB storage

The database has the ability to store large chunks of binary data called BLOBs, or Binary Large OBjects. Some people utilize this to store files, such as raw data files or images, that could just as well be stored in the database. There is currently a religious war over which is best. Below is a brief analysis to help you make your own conclusions.

Pros
With all data in the database, backups are simple as there does not need to be separate backup processes for the database and file system.

Cons
Generally, there is better performance of pulling BLOB from a database, rather than a file, so long as the size of the BLOB is below ~15 kb. Data above this size is usually more quickly accessed as being read as a file from a local disk.

Databases grow large quicily when BLOB data is stored inside them. This can cause headaches for backups, and more often cause database growth issues because of the size of transaction logs, particularly during table structure changes.

Other Thoughts
It should be noted that, in a decently sized company, systems will be established to back up databases and file systems. As such the benefit of having all data in the database to simplify backups is negligible since the files can be backed up just as easiliy.