After local backup, cloud backup is a crucial secondary backup location. Any reputable member of the IT Support Los Angeles Community will insist on backing up your data to the cloud. This is absolutely necessary to protect your data in the event of Ransomware and most importantly, natural disasters such as fires or flooding.

Do not think it will not happen. Turn on the news almost any day and you will see buildings and businesses destroyed by fires, floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes. It is only reliable Cloud Backups that ensure that data could be retrieved and restored and keep companies in business. It is your insurance policy.

Usually, the Cloud retains fewer copies of your files and should not be casually used for recovery due to slower internet speeds than your local network. This should only be used to retrieve data in case of a major emergency or disaster. Think of it as your offsite vault.

What are the types of cloud backup methods?

These are the most common, but new ‘Cloud Companies’ pop up every day, with greatly varying degrees of reliability and ‘staying power’. Arranging cloud backups should be relegated to a Managed IT Services firm, or even an independent IT services ‘Guy’, although the issue with solo IT support ‘companies’ comes down to knowledge and experience, especially with backups and Cybersecurity.

  1. Cloud Storage: AWS and Azure. These are typically very expensive, and they charge not only to upload, but also to download. (called Egress charges). You will often pay double without being aware of it until recovery is needed. It will be a shock, but if you need it, you will pay anything to keep your business alive, so you will end needlessly losing a lot of money. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 offer a certain amount of cloud storage included in the product level of your monthly subscription.
  2. Cloud Backup Software: such as Carbonite, ibackup, idrive, Crashplan, etc. These are usually cheap and in the cloud so many think it’s the right way to go. But they are file backups, and that presents unforeseen problems when you need it the most:
    1. To retrieve the data, you need the proper hardware. The majority of small businesses do not have the necessary hardware (servers mainly) that are immediately accessible for retrieval, so typically, a 3rd Party IT service used.
    2. Those IT consulting services would require you to send an external drive over to copy the data onto. This process might take somewhere between 7-14 days - if you’re lucky. Again, can your company survive 14 days without your data? How much business do you stand to lose?
  1. NO Cloud Backup: This will not protect against issues with your local backup (data can get corrupted, or hardware can fail on the backup server, etc..) and will not protect against Ransomware or natural catastrophe. This is not an option at all, but a lack of options – it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
  2. External Drive: Backing up your data onto a drive, then physically taking the drive offsite: In theory, this could work but there are several issues here:
    1. It is tedious, requiring a lot of manual work. Someone needs to plug in, copy, plug out, remove, move it somewhere, rinse and repeat – human error is the #1 cause for any errors/issues that IT services firms face , and this method screams human error. If cloud backups were automobiles, this is a horse and buggy.
    2. Usually the staff that deals with this task (maybe the owner or another trusted party) are not IT support professionals and thus do not have the proper skills and tools to properly transfer the external drives – they usually just put it in the car as they drive and those road bumps shaking the external drive will eventually break it. At least put it on the seat and not in the trunk.
    3. Often the storage place would be geographically close – someone’s home, most likely, and if the office gets hit with a natural disaster, it is very possible that the house with the offsite copy will get hit as well.
    4. Will recovery be reliable? This is the most important factor. You backup and backup, but if the retrieval process is also not routinely tested, no one ever verifies the backup integrity, leaving it to chance whether it is going to work or not when needed.

The Solution

Cloud backup with a reliable provider (often with or through your Managed IT services provider) with a solid track record that does not charge for retrieval, with automatic uploads and automatic data verification, and preferably with the ability to run the production server from the cloud backup.

That is the only solution that will protect you against natural or man-made disasters, hardware failure, corrupted local backups, compromised data integrity and major catastrophic downtime. Very importantly, it also protects you against hidden fees.

Why Take the Chance?

Call us today or simply fill out the form on this page for your FREE Backup and Disaster Recovery consultation via telephone. Tell us a bit about your business and your processes, and we will give you the best options to keep your company’s data and applications secure and protected. There is NO obligation to ever use our Managed IT Services.
818-805-0909

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What exactly is the cloud?

A:  Rather some ethereal ‘cyberspace’ entity, the cloud is a physical entity, existing in many thousands of data centers worldwide that house massive batteries of servers. The software and varied services that support the cloud run on the internet, but the cloud itself is an earthbound repository of data and network capabilities allowing users to not only store their data, but to work with business applications which reside there.

Q: Why do I need cloud backup?

A: Simply put, it could be a matter of your company’s survival following a disaster. In the event of total catastrophe, how long can your business survive without your data? Over 60% of companies experiencing a total loss of client data declared bankruptcy within 5 months – another 23% did not make it 12 months.

If you are using a garden variety IT services ‘Guy’ and he is not urging you to back up to the cloud, then fire him and hire a Managed Services Provider. Your business is too important to trust it to hourly-rate part-timers.

Q: What is the average cost of cloud storage?

A:  Pricing does change, and it varies depending on the frequency of use and the amount of data stored. The most well-known – Microsoft Azure, AWS (Amazon), and Google Cloud charge between $0.0184/GB to $0.035/GB for the first 50TB per month. Ask your qualified Managed Services Provider – they will undoubtedly be able to arrange better pricing due to the volume of data storage they contract for, as well as the best, less expensive options.

Q: What are the dangers of cloud storage?

A: There are potential risks, which is why due diligence is paramount in putting cloud backups in place – yet another reason why your IT support or Managed Services Provider should navigate these waters for you. They know the players and will know best how to safeguard your data.

Enterprise Cloud Solutions Review lays out these potential dangers HERE.