Have you ever lost a pair of keys before? Or blown a tire out while driving? Maybe you carry a spare charger with you in the unfortunate event your phone dies. The key theme in all these examples is having a backup plan in place in case things don’t go as planned. If having a backup in place is so important in other aspects of life, why do many small to medium sized businesses not have backup plans in place regarding their data? To learn more about the importance of business continuity and disaster recovery planning, click here.
The term business continuity planning refers to putting a plan in place that is focused around creating a system for prevention and recovery from potential harm to the business. The key element is ensuring you have constant access to your business’s data, even when a disaster strikes. You might be thinking, where is the best place to store my data backups? In this blog, we discuss why the cloud is the best place for your business to keep your data backups.
Improved uptime
There is a common misconception that if you store copies of your important data/files on a separate computer or an external hard drive, it will be enough to back your business up in the event of a disaster. However, there are many ways this tactic could go wrong. For starters, someone could steal either of your devices and instantly have access to all your important, confidential data. Second, both of these options are vulnerable to damage caused by disasters, cyberattacks, and simple human errors from employees. If one of these options were to happen to your business, you would lose access to your critical data and as a result you might be inoperative for an extended period of time.
On the other hand, cloud-hosted backups can always be reached as long as you have an internet-connected device. The servers for the cloud are located off-site, making them inaccessible to bad actors and they are not susceptible to the same natural disasters in your immediate locale. Another great benefit of using the cloud is that cloud service providers are obligated to keep their servers running 24/7. This is done through the implementation of top of the line cybersecurity measures and various redundancies, such as alternative servers and power supply systems.
Fast resource provisioning
During the backup creation process, spikes in user activity and resource usage can slow down websites and applications running in the background. A CSP can help you address this issue by monitoring user activities, enabling them to see spikes before or as they happen. The provider can then provision resources and virtual machines as needed to manage the influx of users. To learn more about a cloud service provider, click here.
Control over backup frequency
Since your business’s employees will be working on important files frequently, it is crucial that you make consistent, and periodic backups. Doing this ensures that you and your team will always have access to the latest copies of your data in the event of a disaster.
However, using the cloud ensures that you no longer need to worry about making frequent backups. Cloud service providers offer 24/7 support for backing up your data, as well as offering custom backup schedules designed specifically for your business’s needs. Some cloud service providers can offer real time backups as you making changes to your documents. We don’t believe that is necessary for every business and suggest at making backups at least twice a day.
Support for flexible work setups
As the work environment continues to become more and more remote, it is more important now than ever for your business to purchase cloud backup services. Using hard disks or flash drives simply won’t work if employees are working out of office and even if they were, it is not a good practice to have. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that businesses need to be prepared for the worst and depending on offline backups could result in your business being inoperative for extended periods of time.
Using cloud storage options means your business will always have access to you data, anytime and anywhere. Businesses around the world are leveraging the power of the cloud not just to ensure their continued operations but also to support their growth. If you are looking to transfer your data backups to the cloud, contact RJ2 Technologies. We will help you put a plan in place in the event of a disaster and personally discuss what the best options are for your business regarding data backups.
