We often explain to clients what the difference is between “cloud storage” and “cloud backups”.
Many business owners think that if they have their data stored in Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive or another cloud storage service, then their data is “backed up to the cloud”.
Not so fast. While it’s true your data is on both your local hard drive, and the cloud server, it’s the synchronization process that differentiates cloud storage from cloud backups.
Two-way Synchronization
With cloud storage, whatever happens to a file on your computer happens to the cloud version (and vice versa). This is called two-way synchronization.
For example, if you edit a file, that edited file is synced to the cloud. If you delete a file in the cloud, the computer version is deleted.
In worse situations, files corrupted by a virus or disk error, or locked by ransomware are synced to the cloud. You cannot solely depend on cloud storage for recovery of your crucial data.
You still need backups!
However, with a backup, you are making an isolated copy of the file. Once the backup is made, it can’t be further affected. Malware can’t get to it, and it can’t be deleted by accident. And, as it is stored in the cloud, it’s also impervious to other threats. If your computer were to melt, or your office hit with a burglary, fire, or flood, you could rely on your cloud storage and cloud backup to get you back in business immediately.
Sleep well at night
Sleep well knowing your data and business have taken steps to prevent data loss.
Know what your critical data is. Imagine your computers are stolen in the middle of the night. What data would you need to restore the next day on new computers?
Back up that critical data to the cloud. Talk to us. We'll help you create a data recovery plan.
Move your data to cloud storage, for example, OneDrive by Microsoft Office 365. Cloud storage is included in most Office 365 plans, or you can use a service like Dropbox or Google Drive. Spitfire are experts at helping you get set up.
Test your plan. Test the restoration of data. Confirm it will work for you when you need it most.
Reevaluate your plan every 6 months. Maybe new data needs to be added to your backup set? Reconfirm everything and test.
You're not alone. Spitfire is here to assist you and make sure your systems are set up right.
If you still have questions about cloud backups and cloud storage, get in touch and we'll answer any questions you may have. If you decide to proceed with implementation, we'll make sure it gets done right.
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