Cloud backup is your best (and often last) line of defense against data loss. This makes choosing the right enterprise cloud backup solution a critical decision that will have a lasting impact on your business continuity. Bottomline: you need it to work reliably every time if you want to ensure the integrity and availability of your data in the aftermath of viruses, human error, device failure, overwritten or deleted files, and more. But choosing the right cloud backup provider can be a tall order. Every business organizes data differently and has its own unique set of data backup and recovery needs, making the decision of selecting the appropriate provider an even more complicated one.
By getting to know your organization-specific backup needs and which features will propel your business continuity abilities forward you can find the enterprise cloud backup solution that will work with your business rather than against it. Follow these guidelines to begin your search on the right path:
1. Consider your data storage recovery needs. Start by making a list of your needs and expectations of the recovery and restoration process. Can your business afford downtime in the event of a data loss or black out? How much downtime? How important is it to have the ability to revert to previous file versions in the event of a virus or human error? Depending on your answers, you may opt for a business cloud backup provider that offers unlimited file version history retention lengths across all of your devices, easy online recovery to restore files quickly, or instant server virtualization to defeat downtime completely.
2. Think about your bandwidth limitations. Some cloud backup softwares require more bandwidth than others. If you want to limit the amount of bandwidth your cloud backup solution takes up, you should opt for a cloud backup that runs continuously but only backs up new or changed files. If files haven’t changed since your last backup, there’s no real reason to back them up again.
3. Make sure all of your devices are covered. Organizations store data in a number of places, from laptops and desktops, to NAS devices, SQL servers, proprietary databases and more. Are you willing to pay separate software costs for each computer within your organization? The cloud backup provider you choose should be able to accommodate each of your device types so that your data is protected everywhere it lives. Before you begin your search, make a list of the devices you need to backup and then use that list as a reference as you compare providers. Some providers may be able to customize a proprietary database backup solution for you.
4. Alerts and updates. Automated cloud backup is meant to bring you peace of mind that your data is safely stored in an off-site location, free from the dangers of data loss. To keep this peace of mind in-tact, the cloud backup provider you select should provide you with backup status reports that tell you or your IT department whether your backup was successful and when to address failed backups. In addition, your report should indicate how many files were backed up. When the number of backed up files seems out of proportion to your actual business activity, this information can often serve as an early clue that malware is at play. Also consider how often you want to get these updates and how disruptive they are. With the right automated cloud backup tool, a daily email report is sufficient to ensure that your backups are running smoothly — as opposed to frequent pop-ups.
5. Never settle on support. When you choose a cloud backup provider, you’re also choosing a technology partner that will either work with your organization, or work against it. Your cloud backup provider should offer reliable support so that your cloud backup and restore needs can be addressed on your business’s time. Your provider should be able to reliably, consistently, and quickly address each of your questions and concerns. To be sure you’ve selected an adequate provider, read backup testimonials and familiarize yourself with your provider’s website. Make sure they offer a contact form, phone, email and remote support, along with user guides so that you can get quick answers to your general install and recovery questions.
Key Takeaways
The backup provider you choose will have a lasting impact on your business. It can be your best asset in a data loss scenario, or it could fail to achieve your needs. In summary, make sure your organization selects a cloud backup provider with these features, at a minimum:
- Unlimited device backup
- Affordable, scalable cloud storage
- Fast disaster recovery options (and server virtualization or managed file hosting, depending on the complexity of your needs)
- Automatic, continuous backup of new and changed files
- Unlimited file version history retention lengths
- Reliable support
The true test of any cloud backup provider is in their product. Try Nordic Backup free, with no commitments and decide for yourself if this leading provider offers the top enterprise cloud backup solution your business needs.
Whether you’re looking for a solution for your small business or a solution for an organization with more complex server and database backup needs, Nordic Backup is your go-to cloud backup provider. In addition to offering each of these features, Nordic Backup’s standards for security, data integrity and support are unmatched. Small businesses can try Nordic Backup free for 90 days and businesses with advanced server and database backup needs can access universal database, server backup and more free for 30 days.
