Picture this: You wake up one morning to find all your important files gone. Your photos, documents, and memories - all vanished.
Importance of Backing Up Data
Data loss can cost you or your business millions of dollars, and it can affect your personal finances and memories. Let’s check out some statistics that might get you thinking “Hmm when was the last time I backed up my data?"
75% of small businesses are not prepared with a recovery plan.
21% of people have never made a backup.
29% of data loss cases are caused by accident.
113 phones are lost or stolen every minute.
And 30% of all computers are already infected with malware.
Types of Data Backup
Cloud Backup:
Cloud backup involves storing your data in a remote server maintained by a third-party provider. Cloud backup is convenient, as you can access your data from anywhere with an internet connection. It's also secure, as most providers use encryption and other security measures to protect your data. However, it may require a subscription fee, and you need to trust the provider to keep your data safe.
Offline Backup:
Offline backup involves storing your data on physical media such as hard drives or USB drives. This method is reliable, as it's not affected by internet connection issues or server downtime. It's also cost-effective, as you can use your existing hardware. However, it may be less convenient, as you need to store the physical media somewhere safe and maintain it regularly.
Online Backup:
Online backup involves using a backup software to upload your data to a remote server. This method is secure, as most backup software uses encryption and other security measures to protect your data. It's also automated, as you can schedule backups to occur regularly without manual intervention. However, it may be less flexible, as you need to use the backup software provided by the vendor.
The difference between Cloud Backup and Online Backup
The terms "cloud backup" and "online backup" are often used interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference between the two. The main differences are:
Cloud backup refers to storing your data in a remote server maintained by a third-party provider. Cloud backup providers typically offer a subscription-based service, where you pay a monthly or yearly fee to access the storage space and other features.
Online backup, on the other hand, refers to using a backup software to upload your data to a remote server. Online backup providers typically offer a software-based solution, where you install the software on your computer or device, and the software takes care of the backup process automatically.
In summary, cloud backup is a service provided by a third-party provider that stores your data in the cloud, while online backup is a software-based solution that uploads your data to a remote server. Both methods offer similar benefits, such as remote access to your data and data security, but they differ in terms of the service model and the backup process.
What we do for our Managed Clients
Now that you know a few of the different types of backups there are, here is 1 example of what we do for our managed clients to ensure they don’t lose their data. For workstations and servers, we use a program called StorageCraft SPX or Veeam for our servers specifically. Without getting too technical and confusing, this pretty much means we take daily backups and replicate the backups offsite to our very own data center for disaster recovery. We also highly encourage our clients to utilize OneDrive, which is for saving their local data to a microsoft cloud and OneDrive for Business known as SharePoint if they don’t use an on-premise file saver.
How to Backup your Data
To protect your data, you need to backup regularly. You can use backup software, schedule backups, and test them regularly.
A few ways you can backup your data could be to buy an external hard drive and take all your computers data – copy it to the drive – and then store the external hard drive somewhere safe. That is considered an offline backup and is great if you don’t need to conduct backups regularly. I suggest using this method for something like uploading photos from your phone.
For conducting regular or daily backups we highly suggest using a cloud. OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive and many other cloud and online services make it super easy to keep your files safe and recover them easily, plus all of these programs I mentioned offer a certain amount of free space for your data without having to pay a monthly subscription fee which could just be enough for what you need.
And lastly if you are a business and looking for a backup and recovery disaster plan you can reach out to us at Skycomp Solutions and we will happily guide you in the right direction.
So, celebrate World Backup Day with us by backing up your data today! Don't wait until it's too late. Visit our website for helpful resources and tools to get started.
You can also check out World Backup Day's website and take the pledge to backup your data!
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