5 Reasons Why You Need Offsite Data Backup
Offsite data backup is becoming the norm for businesses, for a good reason. Backing up your data offsite is a safe way to keep your data out of harm’s way, whether that’s a system malfunction or a natural disaster. It will also allow data access from any location, meaning your company has the freedom to travel and work remotely without worrying about accessing data. Offsite data backup options such as cloud-based services can also protect your data, making it a safe and secure choice that will give your business peace of mind.
What Is Offsite Data Backup?
Offsite data backup refers to a remote, managed, or online backup service that provides a storage and recovery system. It uses a backup facility or storage media that are external to the organization or core IT environment. In other words, offsite data backup is a means of securing your business’s data to a server or media in a different location than the primary server. Typically a third-party cloud service hosts the alternate server. Examples of offsite data backup include:
- Cloud backup
- Online backup
- Managed backup
Why You Need Offsite Data Backup
As mentioned above, offsite backup is an excellent idea for a multitude of reasons. It is beneficial for businesses who want to ensure their data is secure. In recent years we’ve seen more software attacks and security breaches than ever before. Aside from that, natural disasters occur at a more frequent rate and cause damage across the country. All of these are reasons to backup your data offsite. Besides the peace of mind it will give your business, it will also allow for easy to share data and access from anywhere in the world. Accidentally delete a file? Offsite data will have a backup for you.
1. Secure Data From System Malfunctions or Attacks
One of the most obvious advantages of an offsite backup solution is that it will secure your data from any attack. Malicious software (also called malware) is a threat to businesses everywhere, so having your data secure in another location, such as a different server or on the cloud, will protect your data. Malware can come in many forms, such as:
- Viruses
- Worms
- Trojans
- Bots/Botnets
- Ransomware
- Spyware
- Adware
- Spam
- Rootkits
- Logic Bombs
- Keyloggers
In addition to system attacks, having offsite data means your business will be safe from any malfunction as well. This could include power outages, storm damage, water damage, or any other event that might affect your business’s technology. If your company operates in an area where severe weather is common, it’s a great idea to backup your data offsite. If any malfunction does occur, your business won’t lose time trying to recover data if everything is backed up offsite. The farther away your data, the safer it is.
2. Access Data from Any Location
An offsite data backup is an excellent option for businesses who need to locate their data from any location. By using a service such as the cloud, data is accessible no matter where you are. Typically all you’ll need to access the information is the internet. Offsite data backup is more common now than ever before with the rise in remote working and work travel. Just don’t forget to backup your data often enough. Having offsite backup is also helpful for businesses that collaborate on projects. It means that everyone involved can access the information they need from wherever they are.
3. Easily Share Data
As mentioned, another great advantage of offsite data backup is that it means you can share data easily. If you work between offices or locations, this will allow your business to work efficiently. Collaborating on projects is a breeze when everyone can locate the newest version of files from your offsite backup. If you’re new to offsite backups like the cloud, you’ll want to make sure your employees are aware of how everything works. Setting up automatic backups, which is discussed further in this article, makes sure backup happens regularly.
4. Automatic Backups Ensure Safety
If your business has data they need to keep secure, offsite storage is the way to go. There is no better way to keep your data safe, especially when thinking about malware or other malfunctions. Automatic backups also make sure that none of your data is missing from the offsite backup. You can often create a fixed schedule for your business’s backups, such as once a day, week, or month. Another option, called continuous backup, is to upload file changes whenever they are changed and saved. If your business takes care to have these settings in place, no data will be left out of the backup.
5. Keeps a Backup Copy of Data
Above all, the most crucial reason for backing up your data offsite is to keep a copy of the data. Your business can choose what is the most critical data to backup and go from there. Since there are a few different offsite backup options, you should evaluate what your company needs and choose a plan from there. Costs can vary depending on the size of your business and the data you want to protect.
Choosing the Right Offsite Data
Once you’ve decided that offsite data backup is right for your business, you may consider hiring someone to provide data backup services. They can handle your data backup safely and securely and provide support whenever you need it. Here are just a few reasons to consider it:
- Added redundancy: by keeping multiple copies of your data, nothing will get lost.
- Rapid recovery: with data backup infrastructure, you can get back to work after a disaster and stay operational through it all.
- Reduced costs: using a service, you don’t have to worry about buying extra equipment or spending time on maintenance.
- Up to date: offsite data service providers will ensure the system they are using is up to date and fully functional. No more worrying about failures!
Offsite data backup is an integral part of protecting your business. By choosing to backup, you will secure your data and allow for easy data access and sharing. An offsite backup will make your business efficient and secure in case disaster should strike.
