SpartanTec, Inc. Wilmington: What is Cloud Backup?

Cloud backup is a service an organization uses for backing up its system, data, and applications to a cloud-based server at a remote location. The server can be either public or private. Larger enterprises may have the budget and resources to create a private cloud infrastructure.

Smaller organizations will typically use a public service that supports multiple tenants. A public cloud backup service is managed by the service provider, and organizations pay a monthly or an annual subscription to access the service.

Cloud backup: Advantages and disadvantages

Cloud backup has many advantages that outweigh the disadvantages. This is why you may choose to store your data in the cloud.

Cloud backup benefits

cloud backup saves time and money

You can save money and time. Cloud backup is less expensive than an on-premises backup. Cloud backup is also less expensive than purchasing hardware and software. You also don’t have to worry about getting approval for capital purchases. Instead, you pay an annual subscription fee which is an operational expense item.

Data protection in the case of a disaster. In the event of a disaster such as a tornado or hurricane, local backups and on-premises data can be lost. Your offices and systems might be destroyed but data stored in the cloud will remain intact, so your company can be up and running again thanks since data recovery is possible.

Access to data is available from any location. Access to your data is possible from any location with an internet connection. Although restoring a complete backup from the cloud may take some time, downloading just a few files is quick and simple.

Better data security. A public cloud backup may not be as secure as a local backup. Yet for a small-to-medium-sized business (SMBs) that may not have a cyber security expert on staff, a seasoned cloud provider can provide better security.

Cyberattack protection. In the event of a cybercriminal attacking your on-premises systems, your data will be protected. Attackers can also delete or alter local backups, in addition to destroying or compiling production data. This data is protected by having off-site backups stored in the cloud. Make sure to ask your managed IT services Wilmington NC provider about it.

Scalability. Cloud services can be scaled by your organization as it grows without needing to buy additional software or hardware. Scaling cloud services is simple and can be done immediately – though your subscription price may increase.

Cloud backup disadvantages

It takes time to download the full backup. It can take up to 24 hours to download a complete backup from the cloud, depending on how fast your internet is and how large the data is.

Data loss could occur at the end of the contract. Pay attention to the policy of your cloud provider regarding cancellations. If you cancel your contract, you will need to ensure that your backup is available for download. Check with your cloud provider to see how long your data will be kept after you cancel your contract.

It can be difficult to switch cloud providers. It can take time to switch cloud providers if you already have a backup and a plan for data recovery in Wilmington NC. You can back up your system to the new provider but you’ll need to also migrate older backups to the cloud infrastructure. Providers such as SpartanTec in Wilmington can assist you with this process.

What is local backup?

Local backup or on-premises backup refers to backing up your system, apps, and data to a local device. This could be tape, disk or hard disk, flash drive or CD, external hard drive or any other media that is on-site close to the data source.

It is recommended that organizations perform a local backup. However, it is a good practice to have a second backup on another device (preferably stored off-site). This will ensure that your data is safe.

Local backup: Advantages and disadvantages

Local backup benefits

Large volumes can be quickly recovered. A local backup can be reliable than a cloud backup because it does not depend on an internet connection. Large volumes of data can be recovered much quicker from a local backup than from a cloud backup.

Find out where your data is. If data compliance regulations are not applicable, cloud providers can store backups in other states or countries. Local backups allow you to know exactly where your data is located and give you direct access to it.

Local backup disadvantages

There is no protection for local disasters. Your data could be at risk if local backups are not located near the source of the data – such as a local data center or local system. We recommend to always have an off-site backup.

If your systems are compromised, they can be attacked. Modern cybersecurity attacks like ransomware don’t just target your systems or endpoints. They will often delete your local backups to prevent you from restoring infected system and increase the likelihood that you’ll be charged the ransom.

It is not easily scalable. You will need more hardware and software if you want to scale up your local backup system.

There are many situations where you may need backups, whether cloud, local or both.

Your organization should have a hybrid backup strategy. This allows you to store backups both locally and in the cloud. This strategy is known as the 3-2-1 backup plan. It allows you to keep your data in three places across two media and one backup offsite such as the cloud. A hybrid strategy is a good choice for a few reasons.

No matter how secure your cloud provider and IT team are, cyberattacks can still happen to one of your backups. Your local backup could be deleted or compromised if your production systems are under attack.
If you have a backup copy of your cloud backup, you can restore the systems to their pre-attack state. If your local backup system fails for any reason, the same applies. Your cloud backup can be used to recover.
Alternatively, in the rare event that your cloud backup copy is compromised, or your data is lost due to a disaster that impacts the cloud provider’s infrastructures, you can use your local copy to recover your systems.
Backups are essential for software-as-a-service (SaaS), applications. The SaaS provider will backup its infrastructure in order to meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs), but it is your responsibility to ensure service recovery and backup.

It is a good idea to create a local backup of important files. However, having the ability automatically create cloud-to cloud backups of your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts will ensure that all data contained in them are protected from any data loss.