Regardless of their size and mission, today’s businesses heavily rely on data to grow, expand, and remain appealing to their target market. It can take years for a company to gather valuable data that can be used for business purposes, so this is one of most enterprises’ greatest assets when they’re trying to remain competitive.
However, just like any other asset, data can be lost, damaged, or hacked. Having a bulletproof data backup system in place can be the only way for a company to avoid losing years of work and vital information on clients and projects.
How Data Backups Work
A data backup—often referred to as just “backup”—is the process through which the data stored on a computer is copied and stored in a safer place. These data storage locations might be another computer or online software, such as a cloud.
This strategy can be life-saving for a company in the case of a loss of data, which can happen for accidental deletion, corruption, hacking, or physical event that affects computers’ functioning. Indeed, it is easy to restore the original copy after such an event if the data has been correctly backed up elsewhere.
Main Types of Backups
There are several techniques that an IT company could implement to safely backup your data. The most efficient ones are the following.
Full Backup
A full data backup is a procedure followed by a specialist to create at least one copy of all data files, logs, tracking files, and metadata that a company or organization wishes to protect. From this process, applications, operating systems, and other software are usually excluded. However, the backup administrator or IT company responsible for this process will be in charge of picking the files to be copied.
Incremental Backup
An incremental backup only copies the files that had been created (and therefore not backed up) since the last incremental backup.
Differential Backup
A differential backup is used to copy and save all the items and files that have been created since the last full backup.
Main Types of Backup Storage
An IT company will offer you many ways of backing up and storing your copied data. Which technique is suitable for your business might depend on many aspects, and you can explore options with your backup administrator. The most common ways to store your data are the following.
Local/on-Site Backup Storage
On-site or local data storage entails the copying and saving of data on local storage devices, such as CDs, DVDs, and hard drives. This method requires frequent backups to ensure that all data is saved at all times.
Among the main benefits of this choice are:
- Immediate access to data when you need it
- Does not rely on an internet connection
- Is affordable for all companies
Off-Site Backup Storage
Off-site storage works just like local storage, but the data is located in another or remote location. The benefits of this choice include:
- Access to your backed data via the Internet (from any location)
- If your building falls victim to a fire, you can still count on your data being saved
- You can share backed up data with other locations (preferable for a multi-site company)
Online/Cloud Backup Storage
Online or cloud storage does not require any physical device to ensure that your data is backed up. Users only need to upload their data on a virtual storage model, such as a cloud, which can be done from many channels. This choice is:
- Perfect for remote companies
- Independent from physical devices and immune to disastrous events
- Accessible from anywhere
Importance of Good Data Backup Strategies for Business.
When a company faces a significant data loss, its productivity, marketing strategy, and growth is affected. Indeed, data refers to all that information gathered from projects, research, clients, stakeholders, and contractors. Without such details, it can be extremely hard to build an efficient marketing strategy and a growth plan.
Making sense of terms and systems can be challenging, especially if you also have a growing business to run! Leveraging an experienced IT company’s services can help you identify the right data backup strategy for your needs and keep your company safe.