6 Benefits of Cloud Backup for Your Business

For the future and safety of your business, the benefits of cloud backup cannot be ignored.

One of the most game-changing developments in this brave new world of online computing is the accessibility of cloud services. As with many tech buzzwords, “the cloud” can be used to refer to many different things, but in the context of data backup, it’s especially noteworthy.

Businesses today can purchase server space in the cloud from services that specialize in technology to make backup seamless and more secure. Cloud backup technology is safe and scalable while being extremely cost-efficient. Let's look at the benefits companies can take advantage of by utilizing cloud backup technology.

The Top Benefits of Cloud Backup for Business

The main purpose of backing up your data is, of course, the ability to roll back and access your archives in the event of local hardware failure. To do business today, you need the confidence of knowing that in the case of catastrophe, your data will be protected and available.

By backing up your information in the cloud, you have the perfect destination for your archives, as your files will be at once everywhere; no longer dependent on any single computer or server. Virtual server environments are in reality vast networks of server centers located around the globe, so that even if an entire facility fails, another failsafe is in place.

The cloud has other advantages as well. With virtual server-based remote backup, in the event that you need to restore your data, you should be able to do so extremely quickly and smoothly – as compared to digitally reconstructing damaged drives. Simply managing your data in the cloud, moreover, should be as simple, mindless and seamless as managing files on any computer.

The cloud is also remarkably affordable.

It has the advantage of requiring no physical location that you’ll need to handle maintaining on your own. A competent IT administrator can keep you connected and can manage your data remotely without too much hassle.

Six Key Benefits of Cloud Backup

As you can see, the benefits of taking your backups to the cloud are numerous. Let’s break them all down into six primary elements.

1. Zero Infrastructure Investment

With cloud-based data backups, your existing corporate computer network is all you need in terms of hardware. Your backup – and potential recovery – is as simple as a download and doesn’t require any expensive additional equipment.

2. Set It and Forget It

Once your data is backed up in the cloud for the first time, you can determine the settings you want for automated backup times, and all of your company’s data is synced once again without you needing to do anything further. That is, you simply establish an automatic backup routine whereby your company data is saved automatically at a set time every day (or hour or week, depending on your needs) or intervals (every six hours or every 12 hours, for example). From that point on, you don’t need to do anything to make it happen – the backup occurs on schedule, and you can relax.

3. Quick Recovery

Compared to antiquated solutions like tape backup, the cloud offers extremely fast recovery time in the event that it is necessary. It should be a straightforward and speedy process – almost as fast as you can communicate with your provider.

It's important to consider and understand how much bandwidth is available to you as well. This will impact the speed, as well as the amount of data you are backing up; which should be measured as well. The details should all be spelled out in your service level agreement (SLA).

4. No More IT Headaches

Relying on the cloud also means that your IT department can focus on doing IT development and other such tasks for the ongoing maintenance and growth of your company. They’ll no longer need to worry about managing your backup hardware and protocol – or at least the work involved will be severely reduced.

5. Much Better than Tape Backup

Backing up data on tape involves some serious pitfalls that cloud backup avoids. Tape backup is often highly expensive, and it’s at risk of becoming obsolete any minute. Moreover, tape is a physical entity that can be lost in transit, or stolen without resorting to cybercrime – merely pilfering the tape while it is being transported offsite is all it takes for your data to get into the wrong hands when you aren’t using virtual backups.

Aside from tape being notoriously unreliable, they can also be time-consuming when recovering your data. Think of it in this way: to play a certain track on a CD, you can push a couple buttons and go there immediately. But finding that same track on a cassette tape takes time fast-forwarding or rewinding to find the right play point.

6. Tiered Cost-Value Alignment

You know those files from several years ago that you never look at but really ought to be kept regardless? That’s what happens – your data loses value over time. It only makes sense that the resources invested in maintaining archives should diminish commensurately. Thanks to “ backup lifecycle management” capabilities, cloud solutions allow you to align your data accessibility needs with the costs involved since you’re able to assign different accessibility statuses to different sections of your archives.

Transitioning to the Cloud

With the plethora of benefits of cloud backup, it’s amazing that there are still companies relying on antiquated, inferior systems – or worse, no solution for data backup at all.

If you’d like to talk to an expert about how cloud solutions can benefit your organization specifically, feel free to turn to the professionals at Atlantech.