Online Backup Versus Traditional Backup
A Backup Article Contributed by Ashley Lister
Online Backup Versus Traditional Backup.
The advantages of online backup over traditional backup methods speak for themselves.
Online backup is the facility whereby important data is transported (usually through the Internet) to a safe and secure remote location. Online Backup providers are companies that operate dedicated servers and employ professionals experienced in backup solutions, data retrieval and backup and restoration procedures.
Online Backup is Not Just for Large Companies.
Aside from the largest companies, and those university establishments with an extensive understanding of IT functionality, it has always been more traditional to use a backup regime that relies on traditional methods such as floppy discs, tape storage, CDs or DVD backup. These often involve specific individuals shutting all users out of a system, running a full system backup to one of the media mentioned above, then storing the media safely in a secure location.
All too often the situation doesn't work as effectively as it should. Occasionally the backup regime can be forgotten. All too often storage media can either prove to be faulty, or fail in some other way. Frequently, the storage location that has been chosen will prove to be unsuitable. Either the media is stored too close to the actual site of the operating machine, or appropriate security measures aren't taken into account, or some other glaring oversight is only noticed at the vital moment when lost data needs to be retrieved.
Even without the problems that can arise from this method, the cost of the media is prohibitive and the disruption caused by preventing users from accessing information can be equally costly.
Those Companies Who Provide Online Backup Solutions are Not Prone to This List of Negatives.
Invariably, online backup regimes are scheduled and run by operant software. This means that there is no (or very little) user intervention required. Because online backups work on a differential scale, after the first full system backup has been made, there is little or no disruption during the backup routine. Online backup providers keep up to date with the latest state of the art server technology, ensuring that the data that has been backed will remain accessible when it is eventually needed.
And, because they have a vested interest in the security of that information, it is guaranteed to be safer than discs or tapes that are left carelessly in an office.
Obviously, because these online backup providers operate somewhere away from the company whose information they are storing, the likelihood of both suffering from any natural calamity (fire, flood or theft) are exceedingly unlikely. Because they already employ a team of professionals, knowledgeable in the fields of online backup, data recovery, storage and retrieval, online backup providers are usually the most appropriate people to be trusted with your valuable information.
In many cases the traditional backup methods might be exactly right for for a small company or a single user.
But, for Any Establishment That Hopes to Grow and Wants to Remain Confident That Their Data is Their Should a Backup Ever be Required, Online Backup is by far the Most Suitable Method Available.
