Browse All Articles > Importance of Cloud Backup
In this technological trend, we all know the importance of our data. Instead of storing it in a physical device, why not to keep it over the cloud and let it follow you wherever you go. Being in a digital world, Cloud Backup is one such thing every internet consumer should acquire.
Digital data has become the most crucial part of our lives. We all have been looking for a place where we can store it safely. In spite of having various options to store data, such as hard drive, pen drive, external devices, memory card, etc., we all are worried about our data being sneaked by someone or stolen by thieves.
If you are working in an IT organization, then you must know that how important it is to have an accomplished client contact information or to review previous year’s payment records. And to get complete access to all this information, we need to store the data at a safe place.
Apart from the physical storage devices, the safest place is Cloud Backup or online backup. Cloud backup is an easy procedure of backing-up your data over the cloud based servers. With this online facility of saving data, users can now store their valuable docs, pictures, videos, audio files, etc.
Why do you need an online storage?
Well, if it is your computer’s hard drive or any external storage device, there are chances of random system crashes. So, it’s really very easy to lose data. Here comes the cloud backup into the picture. You must have heard that precaution is better than cure. So, in the same way, having two backups is also necessary, one is on-site, i.e. on external storage devices and another one would be at offsite with any cloud backup service. Having an offsite backup on cloud keeps you free from the worries of losing any data, as compared to any onsite storage device.
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Benefits of Cloud Backup
Cloud Backup comes along with lots of benefits and the most worthy one is the data accessibility. The files stored in the cloud can be easily accessed at any time and from any place. Cloud backup gives secure accessibility, reliability and strong protection for the backed-up data. The major advantage behind backing-up your data on the cloud is cost-effectiveness. With an almost minimum amount, you can back-up your data on the cloud and also get a secure access 24/7.
While your data has been stored on the cloud, you can access your stored files from any place using an appropriate internet connection on your device.
There are several cloud storage workstations available over the internet, which not only provides you quality services, but also ensures the security of your stored data. In order to protect your data, the cloud backup service providers store your data on encrypted servers. Some of the best cloud storage providers are One Drive, Apple iCloud, Google Drive, Systweak Right Backup, Dropbox, etc.
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Many cloud services allow you to backup and restore your valuable files over multiple devices, as they support several platforms, such as Windows, Android, MAC and iOS. Create an account and your data come along with you wherever you go!!
The cloud storage service provider ensures the complete safety of your data. They perform automatic back up and also let you restore the backed-up data quickly, which you can further share with your friends or family.
Verdict:
Eventually, cloud backup is an online storage service through which we can create, edit, delete, restore and manage our data with the help of cloud computing resources. It has become the primary requirement of various organizations and home users, as everything can be performed remotely over the internet. It can be defined as the best recovery solution as it gives you instant access to your valuable data.
If you are working in an IT organization, then you must know that how important it is to have an accomplished client contact information or to review previous year’s payment records. And to get complete access to all this information, we need to store the data at a safe place.
Apart from the physical storage devices, the safest place is Cloud Backup or online backup. Cloud backup is an easy procedure of backing-up your data over the cloud based servers. With this online facility of saving data, users can now store their valuable docs, pictures, videos, audio files, etc.
Why do you need an online storage?
Well, if it is your computer’s hard drive or any external storage device, there are chances of random system crashes. So, it’s really very easy to lose data. Here comes the cloud backup into the picture. You must have heard that precaution is better than cure. So, in the same way, having two backups is also necessary, one is on-site, i.e. on external storage devices and another one would be at offsite with any cloud backup service. Having an offsite backup on cloud keeps you free from the worries of losing any data, as compared to any onsite storage device.
Benefits of Cloud Backup
Cloud Backup comes along with lots of benefits and the most worthy one is the data accessibility. The files stored in the cloud can be easily accessed at any time and from any place. Cloud backup gives secure accessibility, reliability and strong protection for the backed-up data. The major advantage behind backing-up your data on the cloud is cost-effectiveness. With an almost minimum amount, you can back-up your data on the cloud and also get a secure access 24/7.
While your data has been stored on the cloud, you can access your stored files from any place using an appropriate internet connection on your device.
There are several cloud storage workstations available over the internet, which not only provides you quality services, but also ensures the security of your stored data. In order to protect your data, the cloud backup service providers store your data on encrypted servers. Some of the best cloud storage providers are One Drive, Apple iCloud, Google Drive, Systweak Right Backup, Dropbox, etc.
Many cloud services allow you to backup and restore your valuable files over multiple devices, as they support several platforms, such as Windows, Android, MAC and iOS. Create an account and your data come along with you wherever you go!!
The cloud storage service provider ensures the complete safety of your data. They perform automatic back up and also let you restore the backed-up data quickly, which you can further share with your friends or family.
Verdict:
Eventually, cloud backup is an online storage service through which we can create, edit, delete, restore and manage our data with the help of cloud computing resources. It has become the primary requirement of various organizations and home users, as everything can be performed remotely over the internet. It can be defined as the best recovery solution as it gives you instant access to your valuable data.
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Comments (6)
Commented:
Ah, if only such things were actually true. But storage providers are still firms that have accidents, downtime, change of service terms and bankruptcy. And terabytes are still terabytes and kilobits per second are still kilobits per second.
Do the math.
If you have 1 TB of data to push up to a cloud provider, and you are on an ADSL connection, which are typically limited to 1 Mbps upload speeds, what is the minimum amount of time it will take to get your data TO the Cloud?
1,000,000,000,000 bytes of data
1,000,000,000 kilobytes of data
1,000,000 megabytes
1 Mbps = 0.125 megabytes per second
That's 8 million seconds
133333 minutes
2222 hours
92.59 days
And that's if your connection really is a full 1 Mbps, with no connection overhead, and you can actually afford to saturate your upload channel with backup data.
If you contract with a Cloud backup provider, you may discover that your very first backup never completed before your need for disaster recovery strikes -- much to your sorrow. Cloud providers have their uses. Incrementally adding data to a Cloud for individual file recovery can be one. Disaster recovery is not one of them. If you choose to believe the hype, it may be a disaster from which you don't recover.
Commented:
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/data-security/hackers-targeting-the-cloud-at-higher-rates-than-ever.html
While a company can still be hacked, placing your data along with a lot of other companies on Cloud storage, is just adding your company to a much larger attack foot print. In fact, the owners of the company I work for have a strict "No Cloud" rule. All company data will reside on company owned systems, on company owned or leased property.
Commented:
You understate your case because there are 1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 = 1.1 X 10^12, a number 10% higher than your number, hence an even bigger problem to get it all up to that server in the sky.
But, I only have about 130GB of data to backup of which only about 75 MB change every day. My upload data rate is about 20 Mbps (~120 Mbps download) so it doesn't take but about 30 minutes to do the daily upload (in the middle of the night when nothing else is going on.)
Also, I encrypt all private files before letting the backup service take them.
It did take days to get it all up there the first time but now I'm sailing along.
I also backed everything up to two separate outboard hard drives which are my backup backups running EMC backup software.
Rodney, points well taken. That's why I only backup private files that have been encrypted at my end.
Commented:
I also didn't bother to take TCP connection overhead into account either
We're looking for ballpark figures here.
You clearly live someplace with good, cheap network connections -- but you wrote an article for a global audience.
Our shop is in a new area of one of the fast growing regions of our nation.
To get symmetric DSL of 10 Mbps, I'd have to pay $5500 to get fiber to the door and $1350 / month for the service.
A connection like yours 20 Mbps (~120 Mbps download) is simply not available unless you'd pay the astronomical costs of a partial T3 frame relay.
You've missed my point. It doesn't matter what the Cloud has to offer if you have to sip through a very expensive straw -- and the numbers you posted about your differentials are not making sense for your argument
75 MB change every day : 30 minutes to do the daily upload
To get the whole 130 GB up there in the first place
130 GB = 130,000 MB
150 MB per hour
868 hours
36 days.
My point is simple.
If you are going to talk about Cloud-based DR scenarios, the VERY FIRST POINT of discussion has to be effective networking speeds and costs, otherwise, you are wasting your own time and everyone else's
And with your own numbers, if your download is 6x your upload, you are looking at 6 days to pull your data back down. What business can afford that?
I also backed everything up to two separate outboard hard drives which are my backup backups running EMC backup software.
Good idea. Because in the breach, the usefulness of Cloud-based DR is very limited.
And your article fails to discuss such pitfalls.
Indeed,
Instead of storing it in a physical device,
Your article does not give the impression that you intend the cloud as a tertiary contingency -- which is what it really should be.
Commented:
If you'd like our Carbonite Server Backup offers configurable retention and you can set it to never remove any deleted files: http://www.carbonite.com/en/cloud-backup/business-solutions/server-plans/
If you wanted to learn more about why we set up Carbonite that way or wanted to give more feedback feel free to leave a note back, or Private Message me here on the site. Thanks!
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