We all lose things often- keys, wallet, cell phone, important documents, family photographs, music collection and face a great deal of trouble, if things lost are not recovered on time.

Similarly, losing data is also a big deal – it being the lifeblood of any business.
Losing data because of a hard disk crash, virus, malware attack, computer crash, any man- made error or natural disaster is discouraging. Data lost that one can’t recover could cause multiple repercussions – from furious customers to tax disputes and even legal cases.

Thus, because of these risks, every business owner needs backup and recovery solutions and standards in place.

“You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again.” – Pat Riley.

A little prevention can go a long way to avoid this ordeal of data loss. Every business should take the precaution of regularly backing up its data and settings, this will help in saving time and aggravation later.

Multiple options for business data backing up have been around for many years, but it’s quite confusing to select the right one. This article gives an overview of four different backup methods, that can be of good help for any backup seeking business.

Different types of backup

1. External Hard DrivesAn external hard drive is a portable storage hard disk drive where you can store any kind of file or data. It can be attached to a computer through USB or FireWire connection, or wirelessly and one can drag and drop or copy required files from the computer’s hard drive to the external drive. Once synced to the drive, those files will live safely away from your computer and offer protection in case your computer gets stolen or damaged.

   

   But hard disk drives can also fail and they may stop working. However, solid-state drives have less risk but they are a bit expensive for large-capacity drives.

2. Thumb DrivesAnother portable method to backup is Flash Drives, other name for thumb drives (or jump drives). From simple sticks to drives, USB stick, pen drive, jump drive, disk key etc. mostly can be attached to a keychain or lanyard. This backup method uses flash memory – a storage chip that can be erased and reused with an integrated USB interface.

   

   They are easy to break, lose and become corrupted and if any of these things happen, it becomes difficult to access any of the files stored in them. Moreover, they have only one tenth the capacity of hard drives.

3. NAS (Network-Attached Storage)This data storage device when connected to a network helps in storing files and allows storage access and retrieval of data to authorized network users and heterogeneous group of clients, from a single location.
   It is a convenient method of sharing files over the network among multiple computers. Other benefits include faster data access and easier administration.

   

   But it is a bit expensive and consumes more bandwidth from the TCP/IP network. Many NAS are Linux based, which means the security permissions of files and folders can be lost when used to restore to a Windows server domain environment.

4. Online /Cloud BackupOnline backup, also known as cloud backup, provides businesses with a system for backing up, storing and recovering computer files over the internet.
   The files which are backed up are in an encrypted form and are stored in the provider’s data centers. This backup method provides a web-based admin console for data access and health monitoring of the backups. Its benefits include ubiquitous access, scalability and elasticity, security and pay per use pricing.

   

   The hosting of backup server is taken care of by the backup services provider, who charges the customer based on the amount of space needed for storage, bandwidth or number of users. So, mostly cloud backup solutions are subscription based.

   Hence, it is important for businesses to choose the right backup partner as not all backup service providers guarantee privacy and security of the stored data.

Source: https://www.mdsc1.com/blog/guide-on-how-to-backup-business-data/