World Back-Up Day – The Evolution of Backup Solutions

Does anyone really ‘celebrate’ World Backup Day?  It’s just another way to remind those over-stretched IT managers to spend more time looking at how their data backups are managed. But what is interesting is how data backup solutions have evolved since the first World Backup Day in 2011.

12 years ago, we were backing up to tape and probably moving this off-site to a secondary location for the best levels of protection. Tape still plays a vital role in modern data centres, but we are now backing up for very different reasons.

We are no longer solely concerned about loss, corruption, or disasters such as fire, earthquakes, and flooding – we are more concerned about a successful recovery from ransomware attacks.

We all know the frightening statistics around the growth of ransomware, with an eye-watering estimate of 236.1 million ransomware attacks globally since January 2022.  Ransomware now accounts for around 20% of all cybercrimes – and the damage that ransomware can do is most alarming, both in terms of reputational harm to the business and tangible harm to operations.

Keep your business-critical data secure.

Data is pivotal to all organisations, and a reliable backup strategy is essential for any disaster recovery plan. This includes duplicating and archiving all critical business data and ensuring it is available in case of disaster, ransomware, or deletion.

These days there are many data backup solutions available to ensure your business can be up and running as quickly as possible. These include Cloud Backup, Immutable Backup, On-Premise Backup, and Tape Backup.

Reliable and cost-effective cloud backups.

Cloud storage has transformed data backup. Its affordability means organisations have an offsite solution that provides near-instant access to data backups compared to traditional tape bureau services.

A cloud backup service can consolidate your backup data by backing up central data centre storage systems, remote office servers, and storage devices. These include end-user devices (laptops and tablets), and the resulting backup is accessible from anywhere.

Cloud backup lets your business replicate data to another location, helping organisations to meet industry standards or regulations under its offsite nature.

However, not all Cloud backups, unless feature rich and correctly configured, will protect against malware and viruses. Your cloud backup must have options for immutability and true air gap copies. The Covenco cloud has just such options and is configurable to meet most budgets.

Immutable backups are the most efficient protection against ransomware.

Immutable backup solutions ensure your data is always recoverable. They guarantee that your data on the backup media cannot be modified or deleted. Even if your enterprise backup systems are compromised, you can always recover from an immutable, untouched version of the data.

Ransomware usually involves data encryption on your live systems and across your backups. It includes an infection or virus that finds its way into your hardware and throughout your network. An immutable backup will, already be encrypted and rendered unchangeable – so the virus or hacker fails to affect it. Organisations, therefore, have a last line of defence that ensures a reliable and clean backup is always available.

Secure, quick, and efficient on-premise backup.

Occasionally cloud backups may not be suitable, or the decision may be made to keep and manage your backup on-premise to maintain security or avoid data distribution. In these cases, backup hardware can be installed on-site.

Onsite backup is quick and straightforward for all networked devices, and recovery is quick from storage failures. It is a relatively low-cost, completely scalable solution, allowing you to add storage as and when required.

It is worth noting that any onsite backup will be attached to the company network and, as such, will be vulnerable to data theft or physical damage if a disaster occurs. As such, most companies still operate some form of off-site back-ups, such as a tape library.

Our old friend; Tape Backup – A robust offline backup solution for longer-term data retention

In terms of backup solutions for long-term data retention, tape backup is still the most cost-effective method, especially with large volumes of data.

As data grows, companies face the challenge of protecting this vital commodity. Tape is significantly cheaper than long-term retention on disk, and some might say it is more reliable.

An offline, offsite tape backup solution offers a robust protection strategy against cyberattacks and other disasters. Often referred to as ‘Tape Out’, this solution complies with the 3-2-1-1 best practice for backup strategy. It also provides an “air-gapped” backup which is a completely offline solution (handy in the event of a ransomware attack).

Covenco’s Data Backup Services

Covenco has a dedicated backup team with decades of experience. We only work with best-in-class technologies like Veeam, IBM, Carbonite, and Quorum. We can work with you to design a bespoke solution that fits your budget and provides multiple options for recovery.

With Covenco, you can rest assured that you will get the best service possible. We aim to increase your backup reliability and protect your brand reputation should the worst happen.

The Covenco Data Management team is here to discuss the options. We advise on the best solutions and systems to get your data backed up and protected.

In the meantime, have fun ‘celebrating’ World Backup Day!