All businesses must store important data in order to facilitate customer service and other operations. However, simply storing the data isn’t always enough. If a business’s data storage system fails, data the business needs may be lost forever. To prevent disaster, businesses backup their data securely and periodically, either on-site or off-site.
On-Site versus Off-Site Backups
On-site backups are backups that occur within the company’s own system. In most cases, data is backed up and stored on hard drives that are directly connected to the company’s computers. Off-site backups, on the other hand, are backups that occur in the cloud. When a company chooses off-site backups, a cloud provider accesses the company’s data via the internet and stores it on a remote database.
Benefits of Off-Site Backups
Some businesses choose on-site backups simply because they are unaware of the potential benefits of cloud-based backups. These benefits include:
- Reliability. Most cloud providers make multiple copies of a business’s data and store them in different locations.
- Virus protection. Cloud providers usually offer solid virus protection measures that detect and eliminate viruses before data is transferred.
- Security. Cloud providers encrypt data before they store it, which makes it less vulnerable to external threats.
- Reduced costs. When businesses choose remote backup instead of on-site backup, they don’t need to purchase extra hard drives, nor do they need to employ as many IT professionals to oversee data management.
- Saved time. Off-site backups are automated, which means that businesses don’t need to waste time backing up data manually.
Although on-site backups can offer some advantages, remote backups guarantee a true disaster recovery plan—a more cost-effective choice for most businesses
