Backups
A secure, accessible, and reliable backup will ensure that regardless of your current security strategy, you have the required copies to keep your business running in the case of a malicious attack, natural disaster, or data loss.
Explain to us why we should backup our business data, its all in the ‘cloud’ anyway??
While storing data in the cloud offers numerous advantages, including accessibility, scalability, and collaboration capabilities, it’s crucial to understand that cloud services are not immune to data loss or other risks. Therefore, implementing regular and secure backups for your business data, even if it’s in the cloud, is essential. Here are several reasons why:
- Data Loss Prevention:
- Accidental Deletion: Users can unintentionally delete important files or data, and in some cases, cloud providers may not retain deleted data for an extended period.
- Malicious Activities: Cybersecurity threats such as ransomware can compromise or delete data stored in the cloud. Having backups ensures the ability to restore data in case of such attacks.
- Service Outages and Downtime:
- Cloud Service Interruptions: Despite the robust infrastructure of cloud service providers, they may experience outages or disruptions. Having a backup ensures that your business can continue operations even during service downtime.
- Data Retention Policies:
- Limited Retention Periods: Cloud providers often have data retention policies that may not align with your business requirements. Regularly backing up your data allows you to retain information for longer periods or customize your retention policies.
- Compliance Requirements:
- Regulatory Compliance: Many industries and regions have specific regulations regarding data protection and retention. Implementing backups helps your business comply with these regulations by ensuring data availability and recoverability.
- Human Error and Insider Threats:
- Mistakes and Unauthorized Access: Employees may make errors or intentionally compromise data. Backups provide a safety net in case of accidental or malicious actions, allowing you to restore data to a previous state.
- Customization and Control:
- Data Versioning: Backups allow you to maintain multiple versions of your data, enabling you to roll back to a specific point in time. This can be valuable for recovering from errors or tracking changes over time.
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery:
- Unforeseen Events: Natural disasters, cyberattacks, or other unforeseen events can result in data loss. Backup systems are integral to a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, ensuring your business can quickly recover and resume operations.
- Independence from Cloud Service Providers:
- Vendor Lock-in Mitigation: While cloud services provide convenience, having independent backups ensures that your data isn’t entirely reliant on a single provider. This mitigates the risks associated with potential vendor-related issues or changes in service offerings.
In summary, while cloud services offer robust data management capabilities, implementing regular backups is a crucial part of a comprehensive data protection and recovery strategy. Backups provide a safety net, allowing your business to maintain control over its critical data and ensuring resilience in the face of various threats and challenges.
Why is it important to back up data?
Every business requires a backup solution of some sort. Over the past decade we have witnessed major technological development in this field, causing a conundrum for businesses in deciding the most suitable solution for them. We have listed below the different types of backups and how they work.
Cloud backup solutions for business
Having a business-grade cloud backup solution enables businesses to have a cost-effective backup ‘as a service’ solution. Cloud backup enables clients to have a resilient backup solution that does not require heavy upfront investment, protecting data wherever it may sit. Using cloud-based backup services has made a highly onerous, complex, and tedious task much faster and simpler.
Business cloud backup also allows for businesses to have one account that is used across PCs, Macs and servers, all managed from one simple to use web portal. This ensures that the backup caters for everything in the environment if required. Individual devices can also be cherry picked for inclusion if there are individual users or user groups that require cloud backup.
A hybrid cloud solution is where some of the components are in the cloud and other are located on premise. Having multiple copies of your data in multiple locations means that you have more than one chance of recovery. You are also covered against hardware or media damage, caused, for example, by fire or flooding in your office. Having devices on your premises and in the cloud (hybrid cloud model) also increases fault tolerance against theft or component failure. Having an on and offsite backup solution service can also include business continuity, ensuring that the business does not have any downtime.
Finally, on-premises backups copy your hardware data to a storage device placed in-house. These devices can back up your data automatically or manually and are stored onsite for quick access or physically moved offsite afterwards for archival reasons. Examples of on-premises backup solutions include network attached storage, storage servers or external hard drives.
Get in touch with one of our Backup / Disaster Recovery specialists to see how we can assist with your back up requirements.