Don't Wait Until It's Too Late: Online Remote Backup
A Backup Article Contributed by M. Larose
Don't Wait Until It's Too Late: Online Remote Backup
Online remote backup sounds robotic and very twenty first century and it is. The whole process can happen without a human present. Sending your encrypted backup data across the Internet to a remote location for storage with the push of a button falls into the category of robotic tasks for sure. Using a system like online remote backup can ease the time and money involved with a traditional backup process. What other value does a system like this offer?
Online Remote Backup and Traditional Backup
Choosing one over the other is difficult because they both offer something that the other doesn't. Traditional backup processes offer a hands on approach. Your IT department will know while performing the download if there is a problem. They physically remove and/or work with the tapes or backup media you have chosen. The backup data is usually within walking distance or a short drive from the business location. There is a sense of control using a traditional backup procedure that one might not feel with an online remote backup.
On the other hand, the online remote backup can offer a hands off backup process that is usually run automatically. The data flies across the Internet and lands in another location, is stored on a remote server that you do not have to maintain, and is available to recover at any time you wish. It is a rather out of site, out of mind approach to data backup.
Combine Traditional and Online Remote Backup
The question becomes whether you will put all of your business data into one basket or the other. It's a pretty good bet that doing just one or the other will leave the data open and vulnerable. It's akin to having the only key to your home and not providing at least one other location to store a copy of that key. Most of us know by experience that having a second location gives you a little more peace of mind. This can be so with your critical data as well.
Using both systems, a traditional system and an online remote system can offer the best of all worlds. Keeping a traditional tape backup system in house and the data on it available 24/7 for recovery purposes makes restoring corrupt, damaged, or lost data easy to act upon. Keeping a second set of backup data through an online remote backup source can assist in recovery if a physically disastrous event destroys your business. It can even keep your tape drive backup equipment running longer and requiring less maintenance.
Online Remote Backup Reminders
All of your backup processes must be secure and your online remote backup is no different. Encryption and authentication are important to the safety of your data enterprise.
Don't wait until it is too late. Archiving needs and future storage hardware purchases can be reduced. Add an online remote backup service to your existing backup plan and know that you have more of your data risks and threats under control.
