Data backup can be a tedious and stressful process for small-to-medium sized businesses. Between balancing your budget, finding the right type of storage solution, and seeking reliable security, backup quickly becomes time-consuming. But with new methods of data protection, like cloud server data backup, businesses can access larger, secure, and remote storage solutions for much less.
Older methods of data backup seem to lack the convenience and speed of service cloud servers bring. Until recently, businesses would seek server backup solutions solely from their local vendor. This would often mean setting up multiple physical servers in your offices to ensure you could easily access files. As a result, smaller businesses suffered extortionate costs just to maintain their servers and receive inadequate IT services.
Today the rise of cloud server data backup has benefitted SMBs hugely. This is largely down to reduced server costs, increased accessibility, and on demand services, allowing you to retain a secure, regular backup system.
As proven experts in the London IT support sector, totality services will help you consider the range of data backup options available. So, in this article we discuss what cloud server data backup is and the benefits it can bring to your business.
What is cloud server data backup?
It is imperative that your business files and data are securely and automatically backed on a daily basis. If you don’t take the necessary measures to protect your data, your organisation could be facing disaster. Imagine the worst should happen and your hardware is stolen or corrupted – what would you do?
So, how does cloud backup work exactly? Veritas provides the following definition: “Cloud backup services allow you to store your information off-site in a secure location, accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.”
Essentially cloud backup services function to protect your business data, keeping it stored, compliant, and easily accessible.
The benefits of a cloud server data backup system
So, now you should have a better understanding of what cloud backup is and how it works. But how does it differ from other backup solutions, and is it really worth the switch?
Here we explain just some of the benefits of storing your business data in a cloud server:
Cloud backup systems save stress and time
The problem with backing up data manually (e.g. to a local hard drive) is that it can be time consuming. Manually backing up your files might seem ideal, but it can easily take up a few hours of time per month. In the long run, this can result in days of productivity lost. The more pressing issue surrounds risk, as files can be missed in the backup process and external drives can be lost or stolen.
Cloud backup systems can step in to save some of this lost time and effort. This is especially true if you use a system designed with productivity in mind. Many systems will automatically operate each night after you close the office.
However, an incremental backup system will make only one full data backup and thereafter only uploads files that were changed since the previous backup. This means you get full reporting of the backup process and can have total peace of mind that your data is secure and fully backed up.
Follows 3-2-1 rule of data backup
Most businesses doing data backup right will know about the 3-2-1 rule. This strategy recommends having at least three copies of your data, on two different kinds of media. Finally, one of these copies should be stored off-site for security and safekeeping.
Cloud backup solutions ensure you’re following the 3-2-1 strategy and maintaining compliance with data protection policy. By mixing cloud services with on-premises servers, you can benefit from the flexibility of backups whilst managing your costs.
Lower costs, greater services
Setting up a cloud backup system is considerably cheaper than purchasing local storage devices. With remote storage and backup, your organisation doesn’t need to drain all its budget on expensive hardware and software. And, with a reduction in physical infrastructure comes a reduction in maintenance costs.
Not only is cloud server data backup cost-effective, but it offers a better disaster recovery process. Realistically, most SMBs won’t have the extra funds to allocate to a disaster recovery centre. So, unless DR services are provided by your IT support partner, you will run the risk of being unprepared. But, in the event of a physical disaster, cloud backup leaves your data copies isolated and unscathed. This will ensure your organisation can access its files to get up and running again immediately.
Easy accessibility
Cloud storage and backup is remotely accessible, meaning you can download your files from anywhere with an internet connection. This is beneficial for remote or hybrid working teams who need to share and access the same material daily from different devices.
So, with a simple click you can access small files almost instantaneously. This is especially useful as you can quickly recover data if your primary site is experiencing downtime. Therefore, cloud server data backup makes a significant difference to your operations as fast data retrieval times can help rebalance productivity levels.
Scalability
Cloud server data backup functions on an on-demand basis, which means you can change your services to meet changing needs. This offers your business much greater flexibility to quickly scale up your storage capacity. In comparison, making changes to your local backup solutions requires planning, purchasing, and installing of new physical hardware.
Make the switch to cloud server data backup
Nowadays, London businesses will inevitably seek out cloud services to help boost their operations. And as we’ve discussed, implementing cloud server data backup is a faster growing, more secure and cheaper option in comparison to older storage solutions. So, whatever happens to your physical hardware, your data will always be safe and accessible if needed.