The Importance of Online Backup

With businesses going digital and the need for paper and pen reduced, office dossiers have been replaced by hard drives and data systems for record keeping. While this may seem like a step into the future, many other businesses have advanced beyond this and now store their data online, or on the Cloud with services like Online Backup.

However, 51% of small businesses still back up their data on physical storage devices like tape drives, HDDs, and SSDs. A major reason for this is that, unlike internet based storage, these mediums are accessible offline as well, or because certain businesses are concerned about putting their data online.

If you’re one of these businesses, and still don’t see the need for backing your data up online, we suggest you read on.

Why Should You Be Backing Up Your Data Online?

Natural Disasters

We don’t want to be the ‘glass half empty’ person, but it is an undeniable fact that your data is simply not secure enough if it’s not backed up online.

While you may be happy keeping your data tucked away in hard drives or data centres, seemingly guarded against data thefts, don’t discount Mother Nature.

If you’ve ever witnessed a flood, hurricane, tsunami, or earthquake, you know that there is no escaping this force of nature. Your fail proof systems may just get washed out, or blown away one day.

So, to safeguard your data against any such natural calamities, it is important to back it up some place that will not get permanently washed away due to a natural disaster.

In this scenario, Cloud and online backup services are your business’s best friend.

It doesn’t matter what state your physical office is in now, businesses run on information, and as long as you have all your data safely backed up online, disaster recovery should be relatively easy.

Benefits Of Backing Up Your Data Online In Case Of Natural Disasters

If you still haven’t embraced the Cloud because you have heard some concerning things about it, or you don’t think it is what your business needs, we urge you to reconsider.

Having a disaster recovery plan is case of natural disasters is extremely important for your business – and one of the most important aspects of this plan is ensuring that your database is safe.

Here are all the ways online backup can help your business bounce back in case of a calamity:

Automated Backup

You can set your systems up to automatically backup your data on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. This means that you don’t have to go through the lengthy process of transferring every file onto your backup system anymore.

In short, your data can now upload and be saved without hindering your day to day business activities.

Easy Recovery

If you’re trying to re-establish yourself ground up after some natural catastrophe, you at least no longer have to start your data collection from scratch – or scramble around to collect valuable client information you may have lost in this latest calamity to hit your state.

Businesses rely heavily on data for progress. Whether it is client information, research on trends, employee information or files on competitors, losing access to such data can be extremely detrimental to business growth.

Cloud and backup service providers offer easy and fast recovery to your data, and are your best bet to getting back on your feet quickly.

Data Versioning

Online backup services do not save a single, updated copy of your data – they save multiple versions.

So, what does this mean?

This means that if data in any of the previous versions of your files needs to be retrieved because it has been deleted or over-written, you will still be able to access the older versions.

In other words, your data is never lost with the Cloud, thanks to data versioning.

Unlimited Storage Capacity

The virtual space is impossible to use up completely, and so, online backup can house anything you could possibly want to save without fear of running out of storage space.

You might have to pay more to access to added storage space, but in the long run, it is beneficial for the business. Consider this: in case your entire office is swept away due to a hurricane, you can rest assured that your entire database, even work from the previous day, is safe on the Cloud. 

Easy Access To Data

With Cloud or online storage, you can potentially access your data from anywhere. This is especially useful in case of a natural disaster, or if you have to relocate your business to a temporary space.

There is no need to carry around important business documents, heavy hard-drives, or easy to lose flash drives; anything you need for your business is just one click away.

Other Advantages Of Online Backup And Cloud Storage

Online Backups Are More Secure

Online backup systems, including the Cloud, are more secure than most traditional data storing systems.

Imagine your data backed up to a network that has a dedicated team of IT security experts who work diligently to eliminate potential threats to your data.

What is more, a lot of online backup service providers offer encrypted data storage services, adding an extra layer of protection to your data.

In fact, 85% of IT professionals agree online storage and backup is one of the best ways to keep your data secure.

You Don’t Have To Be A Large Organization To Opt For It

While you may feel that only tech-based businesses with large IT teams are the only ones that can afford to move their data online, think again.

Most individuals and businesses are already using online storage spaces to keep their data, and it’s called the Cloud.

Your data is already uploaded to the internet through services like Drop Box, Gmail, or One Drive, etc. and it does not take a lot of technological genius to do this. In other words, your business can start the same way.

Moving Your Data Online Is Hassle Free

If you think your business has too much data and it will be too time consuming to shift your entire business to an online backup service, we’re here to tell you that this is not the case.

For one, the only way a system would take more time than necessary to backup and sync to the cloud is if the system is very old, or if your internet connection is weak.

Let’s say that the amount of data you have is still too much – you can still upload it in shifts. There’s no need to upload the entire database at the same time. Make the change, one upload at a time.

It is also a good idea to get the services of reliable Cloud providers who can help to transfer your data to the Cloud more efficiently.

The Cloud Is Extremely Reliable

No system is 100% safe from failures, but the 99% uptime guarantee given by most Cloud providers is as close to perfection as you can get.

While your internal servers may go down every once in a while, and require regular maintenance shutdowns to prevent any unnecessary failures, the Cloud is mostly free from such troubles.

Consider this: how many times has your email service completely gone down for hours? It hasn’t, right? This shows that Cloud, and Online storage, is a more reliable space to store and access your data than on premise ones.