What Is Offsite Backup And Does My Business Need One?
Offsite backup is a method of backing up your data to a remote location, that is different to where the original data is stored. It is widely accepted that businesses should have an offsite backup of their data.
This is because data has become crucial for businesses of all sizes, in all industries. It is no longer simply a by-product of doing business, but a vital asset that can drive decision-making and create new opportunities. It is also strongly protected by law, and in the wrong hands, can cause severe detriment.
As a result of its importance, and the risks involved with protecting data, it’s now becoming essential for businesses to implement regular backups to prevent data loss and safeguard client information and business assets. As such, offsite backups are widely considered best practice, when backing up your business data.
What is the difference between an offsite backup and onsite backup?
The difference between an offsite backup and onsite backup is the location where the data is stored. An onsite backup is stored locally, typically at the business premises, whilst an offsite backup is stored in a secondary location, often a third party, and is facilitated by the internet.
This difference ensures that the two sets of data are independent of one another.
Why do we do offsite backups?
Businesses perform offsite backups as a means of mitigation against disasters and unexpected events, such as cybercrime, fires or floods. This is otherwise known as disaster recovery.
Should an unexpected event cause the data you have stored onsite to become damaged or compromised, it ensures that you also have another copy of the data you can access and use.
An offsite backup is important because your data will always remain safe and accessible. If your business is affected by a disaster, you risk losing both your data and any backups you may be storing onsite. This can lead to significant data loss and disruption. As a result of keeping a copy of your data in an offsite location, you can avoid having a single point of failure in your disaster recovery strategy.
Essentially, implementing an offsite backup is the difference between getting back on track quickly following a disruption or experiencing extended downtime that impacts the productivity of your business.
What are the risks of having no offsite backup?
The risks of having no offsite backup can be severe for your business. Should there be an unexpected event or disaster that compromises your data, and you don’t have an offsite data, you may struggle to get operational again in a timely fashion.
It is likely that having no offsite backup will cost you considerable time in the event of something severe like a fire or flood. Cyber attacks could also be difficult to respond to, if your onsite backups becoming compromised by a security breach. This is why it is considered best practice to keep your onsite data and your offsite data separate from one another.
In the worst-case scenario not having an offsite backup that you can use to recover from, your business could suffer serious reputational damage, and potentially closure, if you have no means of recovering data that has been lost or damaged unexpectedly.
How can my business implement offsite backups?
To implement regular offsite backups, your business will require the necessary IT infrastructure and assets to support the service. This is likely to include the implementation of a leased line – a stable and symmetrical internet connection leased exclusively to your business.
Many businesses will choose to store their data and information in the cloud, with a purpose-built solution, specifically designed to store offsite backups. At Acronyms, we recommend a range of services such as Altaro, Azure Site Recovery, and Datto ALTO and SIRIS based on the specific needs of a business.
Cloud-based offsite backups offer flexibility to adjust to the changing requirements of a business, meaning they scale with the amount of data required with each backup. This makes them a suitable offsite backup solution for businesses of all sizes.
If you’re considering backing up your data offsite, you’re likely to require the assistance of a professional IT support company. An IT support company will be able to review your current IT infrastructure and create a plan that effectively combines a regular offsite backup with your other services.
Performing offsite backups with the assistance Acronyms IT Support.
Your data is a critical component of your company’s success. In fact, it’s one of your business’s most valuable assets. As a result, ensuring that your data is secure should be a top priority and regular offsite backups are key to achieving that goal.
Acronyms IT Support has been assisting businesses with offsite backups since 2003. Our talented team of engineers, technicians and consultants boast a wealth of combined industry expertise and can deliver a range of bespoke technical solutions tailored to the needs of you and your business.
The offsite backup solutions we offer are primarily:
Altaro Software
Altaro offers a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solution tailored to SMEs. It includes both cloud and hybrid backup options, all aimed at swiftly restoring business operations in the event of the unexpected.
One of Altaro’s standout features is data replication, enabling the duplication of critical data and environments in the cloud, ready for use whenever required.
Acronyms can manage this software for your business, with our IT engineers ensuring that your offsite backups are monitored and managed, so that you can concentrate on running your business with complete peace of mind.
With multiplatform functionality, including seamless integrations with cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, Altaro is a versatile offsite backup solution suitable for many businesses.
Azure Site Recovery
Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery solution that utilises the capabilities of Microsoft Azure to ensure an uninterrupted service during unexpected downtime.
With automated failovers, Azure Site Recovery allows businesses to swiftly respond to emergencies by seamlessly transitioning to secondary IT networks.
This flagship Microsoft product has cross-platform compatibility, ensuring it can work with a wide range of different of IT networks and configurations, making it suitable for many different businesses.
What’s more, Azure Site Recovery is a fantastic offsite backup solution for ensuring regulatory compliance. It enables businesses to manage the precise location of offsite data, creating a balance between backup needs and legal requirements.
Datto ALTO or Datto SIRIS
Datto ALTO and Datto SIRIS are robust disaster recovery solutions from Datto. ALTO primarily targets small to medium-sized businesses, whilst SIRIS comes with additional advanced features tailored to supporting larger organisations.
Datto ALTO offers seamless network-wide offsite backups and was specifically designed for simplicity. It caters to businesses seeking a straightforward backup solution that doesn’t overcomplicate matters but still provides a sense of security in case of unexpected issues.
On the other hand, Datto SIRIS is designed for larger businesses and those with intricate IT networks. It allows for greater flexibility in data storage options, quicker recovery from incidents, and the ability to fine-tune configurations to align precisely with existing setup.
If you would like to discuss your offsite backup and learn more about how Acronyms may be able to assist your business in keeping your data secure, please book a free no-obligation consultation today.