Every day, people create approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. A significant percentage of that data gets lost, which is why it’s so important to back up data. Unfortunately, backing up data isn’t top-of-mind for most people.
So what is data backup? More importantly, why is data backup essential? In this definitive guide, we answer these two questions, as well as how to back up your data.
Read on to learn more about data backups below.
What is Data Backup?
Data backup refers to the process of duplicating data so that you can retrieve the duplicate in the event of a data loss. At the moment, there are many types of data backup services that assist organizations and enterprises in ensuring that their data is secure and essential information doesn't get lost in case of theft, a natural disaster, or any kind of emergency.
The Importance of Backing Up Data
While you may have a top-quality computer, smartphone, or hard drive, they'll one day wear out.
When that happens, you could lose some or all of your important data. It's the reason you need to learn how to backup data, for instance, how to transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac.
Of course, your local phone or computer repair technician might be able to recover your data when you lose it. But then again, they may not be able to recover all of it. It’s the gamble that anyone who doesn’t back up their data takes.
Worse still, the internet has lots of threats to your data. Viruses can do worse than just stealing your data. In some cases, they erase it.
In recent years, ransomware has become increasingly common. Hackers now can put a virus on your computer that encrypts your data and makes it useless unless you pay them to unencrypt it.
By regularly backing up your data, you don't have to be worried in case the worst happens, and you lose your data. You can always wipe your hard drive and restore your latest backup.
What Data Should You Back Up?
What kind of personal or business information do you consider valuable? You need to have a backup copy of that information. That data could include projects, files, contacts, files, and so on.
In addition to having a backup for your critical information, it's crucial to have a copy of your entire system. This way, you can quickly restore your system in case something happens that requires you to do so.
With the numerous options of data backup services available, choosing the ideal one for your business can seem like a challenging task. The best way to go about it is first to consider how much downtime your business or organization can afford, as well as how much data loss the company can tolerate.
Project portfolio management is a tool that is able to help with strategically organising data. The key benefits of project portfolio management include efficient resource use, improved risk management and accurate data collection, which is vital for data back up.
Things to Look For in a Data Backup Solution
A data backup solution needs to suit your needs or those of your business. Of course, you need to think of the kind of data you're looking to safeguard. Keep in mind that cybercriminals can steal data that you consider unimportant and patch it together to commit identity theft.
With a robust data backup strategy, you can have peace of mind in your digital life. So what should you look for in a data backup solution? Here's a list:
What Method of Data Backup Should You Use?
Generally, there are four data backup options from which you can choose. These include:
Disk-Based Solutions
Disk-based data backup solutions entail transferring data physically to a secondary storage device. Such solutions are quite appealing for people who grapple with the idea of handing over their essential data to the cloud.
Disk-based solutions include network-attached storage devices and external hard drives. Network-attached services are a great local backup solution, especially if you're encrypting your data since they're small and easy to lose or steal.
With a disk-based backup solution, you have more control over your data. However, you need to store the disk-based data backup in a secure location in case of a disaster. Currently, most of these solutions come with software that allows the creation and automation of backups.
Cloud-Based Solutions
Cloud-based data backup solutions function by automatically copying all of your data to a secure offsite data. Typically, a third party hosts the server. These solutions are particularly beneficial for small businesses as they do not require the purchase of costly hardware.
Cloud-based backup solutions compress and encrypt data during transit to the servers of the provider. Where you're using a file-level cloud-based solution, you may still lose your data in case your operating system is corrupted, or your hardware fails.
Hybrid-Cloud Backups
A hybrid-cloud data backup solution backs up your data to a local server or appliance before replicating it to an offsite data storage location. Many of these solutions replicate data to an encrypted storage facility in the cloud. The top benefits of hybrid-cloud backups are that they offer speed, reliability, and granularity.
Online Backup Services
An online data backup service is where a service provider handles your stored data. The solution helps people and organizations to manage their data better. Most online data backup providers offer data encryption to protect data from loss due to cybercrime or technological malfunction.
Backing Up Your Data Is Essential
While the chances of losing your data are not high, it's always a good idea to take precautions in case the unthinkable happens. The cost of data backup may is relatively low, and the process itself doesn't take a lot of time. The cost of going without backup, on the other hand, can be very high.
Would you like to know more about what is data backup or the importance of data backup? Keep visiting our website for more articles on the subject of data security and cloud computing.
Things to Look For in a Data Backup Solution
A data backup solution needs to suit your needs or those of your business. Of course, you need to think of the kind of data you're looking to safeguard. Keep in mind that cybercriminals can steal data that you consider unimportant and patch it together to commit identity theft.
With a robust data backup strategy, you can have peace of mind in your digital life. So what should you look for in a data backup solution? Here's a list:
- Ample storage space
- Ease of set up
- Affordability
- The time it takes to back up your data
- How secure the data backup solution is
- Ability to recover and restore data quickly
- The mobile apps that help you access your data
Generally, there are four data backup options from which you can choose. These include:
Disk-Based Solutions
Disk-based data backup solutions entail transferring data physically to a secondary storage device. Such solutions are quite appealing for people who grapple with the idea of handing over their essential data to the cloud.
Disk-based solutions include network-attached storage devices and external hard drives. Network-attached services are a great local backup solution, especially if you're encrypting your data since they're small and easy to lose or steal.
With a disk-based backup solution, you have more control over your data. However, you need to store the disk-based data backup in a secure location in case of a disaster. Currently, most of these solutions come with software that allows the creation and automation of backups.
Cloud-Based Solutions
Cloud-based data backup solutions function by automatically copying all of your data to a secure offsite data. Typically, a third party hosts the server. These solutions are particularly beneficial for small businesses as they do not require the purchase of costly hardware.
Cloud-based backup solutions compress and encrypt data during transit to the servers of the provider. Where you're using a file-level cloud-based solution, you may still lose your data in case your operating system is corrupted, or your hardware fails.
Hybrid-Cloud Backups
A hybrid-cloud data backup solution backs up your data to a local server or appliance before replicating it to an offsite data storage location. Many of these solutions replicate data to an encrypted storage facility in the cloud. The top benefits of hybrid-cloud backups are that they offer speed, reliability, and granularity.
Online Backup Services
An online data backup service is where a service provider handles your stored data. The solution helps people and organizations to manage their data better. Most online data backup providers offer data encryption to protect data from loss due to cybercrime or technological malfunction.
Backing Up Your Data Is Essential
While the chances of losing your data are not high, it's always a good idea to take precautions in case the unthinkable happens. The cost of data backup may is relatively low, and the process itself doesn't take a lot of time. The cost of going without backup, on the other hand, can be very high.
Would you like to know more about what is data backup or the importance of data backup? Keep visiting our website for more articles on the subject of data security and cloud computing.
