In today's data-driven world, businesses of all sizes generate and accumulate mountains of information. This data forms the lifeblood of operations, encompassing everything from customer records and financial documents to intellectual property and marketing materials.
Losing access to this critical data due to hardware failure, cyberattacks, or natural disasters can be catastrophic. Cloud backup as a service (BaaS) steps in as a digital lifeline to offer a secure and reliable solution for safeguarding business information.
BaaS is a subscription-based service that allows businesses to automatically back up their data to remote servers managed by a cloud provider.
This eliminates the need for physical backups on local servers or external media, which can be vulnerable to physical damage or theft. BaaS services typically offer automated scheduling, encryption for data security, and easy disaster recovery options, providing peace of mind for businesses.
It also offers flexibility because online storage for data can be scheduled, whether in real-time or other methods depending on the unique business needs.
The enthusiasm for cloud backup is certainly growing globally, with predictions that the market size will grow by around $24.65 billion by 2030.
In 2022, the market was worth approximately $4.56 billion. However, some organisations may still be hesitant to implement the service, which can have dire consequences.
Imagine a scenario where a malicious cyberattack encrypts your company’s data or the accidental or malicious deletion of data by an employee rendering it inaccessible. Or perhaps a hardware failure wipes out your server, destroying years of financial records and customer information.
Without a backup system in place, such events can cripple operations, erode customer trust, destroy a business’s reputation, and may even lead to financial ruin.
The cost of data recovery after a disaster can be exorbitant, and the time lost in rebuilding lost data can severely impede business continuity.
In short, every business regardless of size or industry that relies on digital data to function should be considering BaaS. This will range from small businesses storing customer invoices and financial data to large corporations managing intellectual property and engineering designs. Cloud backup therefore offers a scalable solution that can accommodate the needs of any organisation.
While the importance of data security is widely acknowledged, a surprising number of businesses still lack adequate backup systems. To date, 30,578,031,872 known records have been breached in 8,839 publicly disclosed incidents, and we are only just entering the 2nd quarter of the year.
To put this in perspective, that is more than 2.6 million breaches a day – close to 112,000 every hour. This disconnect between awareness of the risk and taking action to mitigate it highlights the critical need for greater education and adoption of cloud backup solutions.
One common concern surrounding cloud backup is security. However, reputable cloud storage providers employ robust security measures to protect data. While it is difficult to remain 100 percent secure from cybercrime due to its sophisticated nature, the use of cloud backup significantly reduces the risk.
Cloud backup systems offer several advantages that make them more secure than traditional on-site backups for many businesses, namely:
Enhanced Security Measures
This includes encryption of data both at rest and in transit, access controls to restrict unauthorized users, and regular security audits to identify and address potential weaknesses.
On-site backups stored on servers or external hard drives are vulnerable to physical theft or damage from fire, floods, or natural disasters. Cloud storage eliminates this risk by replicating your data across multiple secure data centres in geographically diverse locations.
Disaster Recovery
Cloud backups facilitate faster disaster recovery. In case of a cyberattack or physical disaster impacting your on-site infrastructure, you can restore your data quickly from the cloud, minimizing downtime and data loss.
Scalability
Cloud storage scales easily with your growing data needs. This reduces the complexity of managing your own backup infrastructure and ensures your data is always protected.
Transitioning data to the cloud can seem daunting, but NTT DATA for example, offers easy-to-use migration tools and support services. We currently offer a Backup service for Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
The solution is based on Redstor and provides AI for malware protection, encryption of data and multipoint recovery through an instant data service.
Businesses can choose to migrate their entire data set at once or implement a phased approach, backing up critical data first. No matter the business size, or its needs, it is crucial to partner with a reliable cloud provider with a proven track record in data security and customer support.
The cloud backup landscape is continuously evolving. Expect advancements in encryption technologies, multi-factor authentication, and AI-powered threat detection is the next step of this evolution, along with even more flexible storage options and granular cost controls to cater to diverse business needs.
As data privacy regulations become more prevalent, cloud backup solutions will increasingly start to prioritise compliance and user control over data and hybrid cloud backup models that combine on-premises and cloud storage will offer a balance for businesses with specific data security requirements.
It is time for organisations to embrace these innovations as cloud backup as a service cements itself as the cornerstone of a resilient and secure future for business on a global scale. There has never been a more prevalent time to focus on protecting data – or a more complete service to ensure this protection.
Lawrence is Head of Cloud and Colocation at NTT DATA
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