Online Data Backup Services – the new backup solution

Remote, offsite data backups have long been financially and logistically beyond reach for majority of small to medium enterprises (SME’s). Limiting factors have always been the affordability of sufficient internet bandwidth, the affordability of reliable feature rich backup software and the sheer expense of offsite storage, be it in a data centre or some other offsite premises.

With the evolution of online services and higher bandwidth internet connections becoming more affordable, offsite backups and similar services are now available to a broader spectrum of businesses. Previously these services were only viable for large enterprise, educational institutions and government departments.

The vast expansion of “Cloud Computing” resources and “Cloud Services” has greatly reduced the cost of online storage and bandwidth costs. The massive investment into these resources and services by Cloud Computing Providers has also increased the availability and reliability of such services. Not so long ago, online storage and bandwidth was charged out by the megabyte. In today’s world of Cloud Computing, storage and bandwidth is calculated and charged by the gigabyte and at similar rates to that of which we used to pay per megabyte.

Residential and business grade internet connections have also evolved somewhat. A standard business service in Australia at present is offering download speeds at and well in excess of 8Mbps and download inclusions starting somewhere between 50 and 100Gb. Although Australia’s internet infrastructure is out dated in comparison to many other countries around the world, it has still advanced enough to make Cloud Computing Services viable for all SME’s.

Another major deterrent of online data backup services for SME’s, has also been the cost and availability of backup software. Up until recently only expensive and complex software solutions have been available. These solutions are not only expensive to purchase, but the annual maintenance and IT infrastructure setup costs are also quite costly. Some very affordable, feature rich and user friendly solutions are available in today’s world of cloud computing, which will give the larger enterprise software providers a much needed shakeup. These more affordable solutions on the market are robust, flexible, secure and user friendly. These products are also offering features as good and in some cases better than those offered by the enterprise level software solutions.

With online data backup services being much more affordable in today’s IT world, many organisations are utilising cloud backup service providers as an alternative to traditional onsite backup methods. SME’s are benefiting from the lower total cost of ownership (TCO) of online data backup services in comparison to traditional onsite backup solutions.
 

Here are just a few of the major benefits of an online data backup service compared to traditional onsite solutions:

Financial Benefits

·         No upfront hardware or software costs. These costs are built into the monthly service fee of an online data backup service.

·         Always up to date backup software. Due to online data backup services being subscription based services, the latest technologies in backup software are at your disposal without the need to pay for additional software maintenance or upgrades.

·         Dynamic expansion of online backup storage allows your online backup solution to grow or shrink as required without any additional costly hardware or IT costs.

·         Online data backup services are normally charged on a monthly basis freeing up monthly cash flow in comparison to purchasing a traditional onsite backup solution with upfront costs starting in the thousands.

Operational Benefits

·         Secure offsite storage of backed up data. All backed up data is stored securely in the cloud on high redundancy storage.

·         Automated backups with no human intervention required.

·         Comprehensive reporting and notification systems, allowing the user to always be informed of their data backup status.

·         Centralised backup for multiple server or multiple site environments.

Migrating to an online backup solution in the cloud, either now or in the near future, is a viable cost effective solution within reach of all SME’s. You should consider the technology and implement a secure, reliable and flexible online data backup service for your organisations critical data today. It makes business sense.

AUS-IP SecurVault – Online Data Backup Services