Over 75% of SMEs do not have an adequate backup plan and over half back up less than 60% of their data, according to a survey by Symantec in 2011.
To solve the problem with backups, many businesses are moving to an online backup service, but many more are still struggling along with tapes. In this section we’ll explain what online backup is and who can benefit from it.
Online or Cloud backup as it is also known, is essentially a managed backup service. Backup data (email, database, file, photo etc.) is sent over the Internet to a backup server where it is stored securely.
Online backup providers’ fees vary, but most charge per GB of data backed up as well as a fee when you download data for a restore.
Online backup has gained popularity with smaller businesses due to the simplicity of the solution. However many businesses are moving to an online backup service without considering all the practicalities.
Businesses are often left with ineffective backups if they fail to take into account factors like:
With costs as low as £100 per annum and easy to use management tools, affordability and simplicity are two of the main benefits attracting people to online backup services.
Using online backup brings considerable cost savings since you do not have the cost of tape drives, tapes, backup software and servers.
Security is another key advantage, as data is automatically encrypted before it is sent over a secure Internet connection. The data then remains encrypted, unlike many traditional backup systems which make data encryption too complicated and put data on tapes that are easy to “lose”.