A data backup is when you make a copy of a set of data files. Creating a data backup is primarily done so that if the original data is unavailable or becomes corrupted, you may use the backup copy to restore the data or files for your business or personal needs.
A cloud backup is a data backup stored in the cloud rather than on your local machine or network. Quality and frequent data backups are among the best and often overlooked security controls for ensuring business continuity. Cloud backups are perfect for a few reasons:
- In the event of complete network failure, cloud backups can be used to restore your IT systems, while a local data backup could have been corrupted in that scenario.
- Storing data in the cloud can be much cheaper than maintaining your own servers to store the backup data, making it a more affordable and reliable alternative to local backups.
Why do you need cloud backup?
As mentioned previously, cloud backups are critical as part of your overall cybersecurity, business continuity and disaster recovery planning for your business. Whether it’s a cyber attack, natural disaster, disgruntled employee etc., it’s prevalent in business for data to get deleted or become corrupted. If you don’t have reliable data backups to recover from, that information will be lost forever, and that can cause severe damage to your business operations. The gold standard for data backups in the IT industry is called the 3-2-1 rule. This standard mandates the following as to follow for making the best cloud backups:
3: Create one primary backup and two copies of your data
2: Save your backups to at least two different types of media
1: Keep at least one backup file offsite
This rule is designed to create backups that can be relied on in an emergency. In addition to this rule, creating data backups at least once a week for any critical data, preferably once every 24 hours, is advisable. A benefit of using cloud backups is that your data is automatically stored offsite, and selecting the media that your data is stored on is effortless based on what your cloud provider offers.
What are the best cloud backup features?
When choosing between cloud backup services, there are a few features that you want to keep in mind:
1) Ability to schedule backups
2) How much storage space is included in the plan?
3) Encryption of data at rest
4) The type of backups supported
5) Time to Recovery
6) Supported device types
Advantages
After listing the features of the best cloud backup services, let’s look at some of the advantages cloud-based backup services offer and what you should look for when deciding between different offerings:
Reliability and Consistency: One of the most significant benefits of cloud backups is that once your cloud backups are configured, maintenance requires minimal effort. You can schedule backups to run at your specified intervals, and you don’t have to worry about maintaining the infrastructure for storage.
Cost Savings: One of the most valuable benefits of cloud backups for businesses is cost savings; it will be much more cost-effective to outsource data storage. Having onsite data centres and servers is expensive to build and maintain.
Security: As mentioned previously, having offsite data storage is essential for your security operations. In the event of a hack such as ransomware or a data breach, having backups stored on the same network as your production data means they can be corrupted simultaneously. Using a cloud backup solution gives you the isolation needed between your onsite production data and data backups.
Scalability: is another advantage. When you use cloud services, you typically pay as you go, this means you only pay for as little or as much cloud storage as you use, and it’s effortless to adjust. If you’re hosting everything onsite, it can be more challenging to scale up or down your servers according to your data storage needs.
Cloud Data Backup Services from CG Technologies
Managed cloud backup solutions from a trusted partner like CG Technologies provide small/medium businesses with an enterprise-level backup capability at a fraction of the cost. Our trusted cloud backup solutions can help your business quickly recover from any data loss, no matter the cause or the size. Think of it as an insurance policy for your business data. Contact us to learn more.
