Most businesses maintain volumes of information on their computers or on servers and some unfortunately believe that moving all of their files onto a cloud server will help them prevent losses. Unfortunately, cloud servers aren’t poised in the sky being watched over by angels and any type of failure can lead to disastrous consequences. Business owners wouldn’t think about leaving all of their files on a single computer, knowing that if something goes wrong with that system they lose everything. They should think the same way about the data they store on a cloud.
When considering a back-up solution to cloud storage, it’s important to choose the right system to meet your business needs. While protecting you information is the main point of having a cloud back-up, one of the first considerations should be cost. There should be no surprises that show up in a monthly or annual bill. The cost should be straight forward, preferably in one flat rate and void of any hidden charges.
There are a few factors to consider when looking into a cloud back-up, among them:
- Cloud based configuration
- Use of top notch storage facilities
- Delta Backup
- Speed of access and recovery
- Management control
- Security
You store all of your files and data on a cloud so it should make sense that restoration of any corrupt or lost files should also be available on the cloud. It can be a waste of precious time if you have to configure a back-up system on every computer connected to the cloud and even more time is lost if you have to go to each machine and input the settings about what data will be backed up or how. Any back-up system considered should be able to handle any needed configurations on all connected machines through the cloud.
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Say you’re on vacation and your version of Windows is corrupted you need to be able to restore the program through the cloud. If you have to wait until you return to make repairs to individual files, it seems to defeat the purpose of your cloud back-up. You should be able to access all of the files you need and use on any authorized computer from the cloud.
Some back-up companies use their own proprietary storage, but the better ones will offer duplicating your data on different secure servers so that if one system is corrupted your data is still safe and secure. It’s not just the potential for you data being obtained by unauthorized individuals; it is also the safety of your data that could be in jeopardy.
Time can be saved with some back-up solutions that use what is termed delta back-up. What this means is that you may have a program in which information is changed frequently. Instead of backing up the entire program, the delta back-up only updates the information that has changed. Instead of tying up your resources by updating a large file every time something changes, this type of service saves a lot of time and will not slow down your system while it needlessly backs up a large file.
Your cloud back-up system should allow you complete control through a single console. The ability to add, delete or adjust users’ access should be able to be performed from a single location. Every aspect of your business should be able to be handled from one single console in order to save you the time and effort you need to run your business.
Encryption of your information should be handles at the source and when considering a beck-up source security should be another key factor. The use of AES-256 is the minimum you should accept, but ensure you have the option to provide the key to the system to those with need.
This article is a contribution by Ilya Elbert, Ilya writes for several Remote Computer Repair and IT Consulting companies and is an avid proponent of good computer security habits.
