We discussed the 10 features you should look for in a good cloud backup service so that you can be aware of the reliable service providers you can trust.
10 Vital Features of Good Cloud Backup Service
First of all, what do you think would happen to your firm if it lost all its information and data due to human error, natural disaster or cyber-attack? Think about it, what if management’s vital apps, business website, file database and all the important files needed to manage your firm unexpectedly disappeared. I can even hear your mind saying that it cannot happen and you can’t bear thinking about it being possible.
Nonetheless it does, because I have seen it happens here in United States. I have seen cases where well established company’s hard drive fail. There are also some acts of God usually called natural disaster, others such as; human mistake, hacking etc. happen without prior notice. Seriously, all these events I have mentioned and even more can occur and result in data complete death and without an online backup, there may be no chances of a quick rescue or data recovery at all.
Backups should be non-negotiable.
Yes, it’s true and I mean it because without Cloud backup service, there seems a major risk of your business collapse. Therefore, making use of them will help you overcome disaster quickly, allowing your firm to get back up and running.
Now that you have understood what I mean, it is necessary for you to know that not all backup solutions are the same. As of today, a lot of companies in the US have moved their backups to the cloud because it offers speedy data recovery, cost effective and give benefit with improved services. Read on because I have taken my time to explain the reasons why cloud backups are so prevalent and what to expect from a cloud service provider.
Explanation of Cloud backup Service
Cloud backup is third-party service that enables customers to store data, remotely, on the internet. Businesses using the cloud can backup, manage and recover data much more easily than with traditional methods that require additional, on-site storage. Meanwhile, do not confuse Cloud Backup and Cloud Storage; there’s a difference.
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From my years as an IT personnel, I know that cloud offers flexibility to cope with different storage requirements. The most important is that it provides affordable pay as you go pricing service and gives you a complete control over the type of data saved and how regularly you decide to back it up.
10 features you must look for in a reliable cloud backup service
1. Size of Storage space
If you visit any Cloud provider’s website, you will discover that they charge their customers based on the amount of data storage they use (like pay as you go). Even though this may work out to be a cheaper option than buying a complete storage servers of your own, it is recommended that you consider the requirements. Of course, this will involve considering the size of the single backup and then multiplying it by the number of cloud backups you may need to preserve at a given time. In the final analysis, it will assist you to compare the charges of an individual provider.
2. Search for Expandable Storage
It might be that your company does not currently have large data but the amount of data you need to back up can differ. Meanwhile, do not forget that; as your company expand in growth, your storage requirements are likely to skyrocket too. However, if you seldom execute large-scale projects, you may simply want a momentary backup your data for a short period of time. In addition, note that a trustworthy service provider will allows its clients to increase their storage capacity to a desired size. This should be on a flexible cost, allowing the user to increase with growth or to cover short-term necessities.
3. Server High availability
Imagine this; you just lost your files by mistake then finding out that your backup server was offline when you need to do a disaster recovery? Think about it, what could be worse than suffering a data loss? What if you discover that the server is regularly offline, this is to say that your scheduled backups was not completed and your vital data was not saved? Keep in mind that it is important that your cloud backup provider offers a high availability service that is guaranteed to stay online 24/7/365. Simply look elsewhere if they doesn’t provide 99.95% or higher.
4. Cloud Provider’s Disaster Recovery Plan
The reason why you use a backup service to shield you from losing your files in case of emergency shutdown or damage. Then what will happen if it becomes the provider’s backup server that went down? What will you do if the vendor does not have a backup plan? You see? So, before you choose a backup service, please ensure that it has its own disaster recovery plan in operation too.
Look for a bigger company because we know that most service providers have different backup location that helps them to store several copies of your backups at different data centres. Consequently, even if a flood, fire or explosion destroys their complete with the data centre, other copies stored elsewhere can be brought online immediately. Please ensure that your service provider has this solution in place.
5. Backup Frequency
As you may know that most businesses need to back up their data regularly than others. As a matter of fact, if you have a busy eCommerce business, for instance, you may need constant backups so that you do not misplace any very new transactions in case data gets lost.
Ordinarily, there are some backup services that will give you total control over the frequency of your backups and can even permit you to schedule the updates at your convenience. Meanwhile, others only offer a limited number of backups and at specific times as agreed by the provider. In the light of this, ensure that you pick the option which best suits your company’s requirements.
6. Backup security
When you ponder on the number cyber-attacks that occurs regularly on the internet, you will know the security of your cloud backups is extremely important. It difficult to protect yourself sometimes, not to talk of if you authorize that security to a third-party company. So, you need to be sure that they have healthy measure set in place to help safeguard data and information out of hackers and other wrong hands.
READ: Hybrid Cloud Security Risks Challenges and How to Fix them
In addition, it is also preferred, that they must have a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Protection (TLS), an intrusion prevention, 256-bit encryption for storage and data transfer and use 2-3 location data storage system. Furthermore, the physical data centres is expected to be well-guarded with strong security personnel, CCTV monitor and be able to control access with authorization.
7. Data compliance
Policies and data regulation are getting stricter by the day. If a company is holding data and information for a third party by service, they are required to comply with the Data Protection Act and the new GDPR regulation. Also, as a customer, if you have given authorization for your data to be backed up by a third-party cloud provider, please note that you are still responsible for it. That being said, you have to ensure that your vendor meets industry standards and follows best practice to help you stay compliant with the act.
8. 24/7/365 Technical Support
As we have explain here, cloud backups service are vital if at all you need to recover from a data loss. Though, if a disaster does happen without prediction, there are technical difficulties to quickly get back online. It’s the challenging times like these that you will know that you require a service provider that does more than simply provide a backup server.
Now, that being said, you have to give yourself the best option of meeting your Recovery Time Objective, so you will require a vendor that can assist you with the technical issues to fix errors no matter the time of night. For you to make sure this happens, you have to first; select a cloud backup service that offers expert 24 hours and 7 days a week technical support.
It is even preferred that support should be available through telephone, online chat and email connections. Using this method, if there is a communication gap in one channel or network being unavailable, there are other ways you can still use to connect with the support team to get the problem resolved.
9. Read the Terms & Conditions (Ts & Cs)
Visit the website of the cloud service provider you want to choose and be sure to read all terms and conditions carefully in full. You should do this even before signing up to a backup service from them. On this note, a reliable cloud backup provider will provide SLAs and guarantees to make sure you receive an active service. That’s not all, you have to check also to see if there are any restrictions that might prevent your company carrying out backup operations in the way you want it.
10. What does the customers think of a service?
The main priority in a backup service should be the quality of the backup service and how well it can suits the requirements of your organisation. As a matter of fact, if you are not sure about a specific cloud backup provider, I will recommend that you go to the customer reviews page online to see what people are talking about them. In the long run, these reviews often give a useful awareness into the quality of the cloud provider company, the services it renders and the support it gives its existing customers.
Conclusion
From reading this post you should have a clear understanding of how critical it is to back up your data because I have analyzed 10 essential features of a cloud backup service. In summary, you should also see how cloud backups provide a quick, flexible and cost-efficient way to back up, store and recover data in the event of a disaster. I am confident that these 10 points I have taken time to explain will help you find the right provider to secure your data when you back it up.
