As more and more businesses migrate their data and processes to the cloud in South Africa, it’s become blatantly obvious that a new focus has been acquired on the benefits of cloud backup strategies and the type of security that it provides. With cloud computing receiving more attention in the business world, more professionals are noticing the benefits.
One of the core reasons why so few businesses have jumped on the cloud backup bandwagon is that it is a habit that needs to be formed. In the past, businesses would need to schedule regular backup times to physically load data onto storage devices. These days a cloud backup strategy is less of a technical issue and more of a mindset. This change in focus means that the environment requires less of an on-site infrastructure and becomes almost a mental strategy of opportunity. Data backup possibilities are being constantly and incrementally updated allowing for better solutions, tighter control and faster response times.
The Benefits Of Cloud Backup For South African Businesses
While Cloud backups are emerging as the “way to backup”, there are many benefits to such a process that shouldn’t be overlooked. These benefits to a sound backup strategy are being recognised and adopted by a variety of South African businesses. These include:
- Better control over backups
- Quick data recovery response
- Redundancy concerns reduced with an automated off-site strategy
- Lower costs with less infrastructure – no need for physical storage space, devices or additional security to mitigate potential loss/theft
Cloud Backups Should Form Part Of A Business’ Disaster Strategy
What many companies fail to consider when they backup data (or fail to backup) is how they would recover their lost data and maintain business continuity if a disaster such as a fire or theft of their storage devices occurred?
Quite simply businesses should be asking themselves: Is our recovery strategy reliable and of a satisfactory standard? Is our recovery solution sound enough to ensure continuity in the event of a disaster? Have we performed frequent tests on our backup to ensure that it is recoverable?
Having a cloud backup solution doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook though. Businesses still need to conduct themselves responsibly and set measures in place to protect data and ensure risk is kept to an absolute minimum.
Good Things In Store For SA & Cloud Backups
Industry professionals have implied that South African businesses can transition elegantly into a cloud backup situation where the need for physical space and devices is zero. The cost benefits, continuous development and efficiency of data availability off-site, 24 hours a day, have now reached a productivity point that almost negates an on-site facility.
Adopting a different mindset where all opportunities are considered and testing the recovery and backup strategy form an integral part of any cloud backup solution. After all, cloud backup is only useful if you are certain the data is being backed up and is actually recoverable, timeously, in the event of data loss or theft.
Benefits Of Cloud Backup For South Africans At A Glance
With cloud and online backups growing in popularity, the SA business market can expect the following:
- Reduced disaster recovery costs for South Africans
- Local support in your time zone
- Data is encrypted which means there is no chance of it falling into the hands of an unscrupulous third party once it has been backed up to the cloud
- Increased security for businesses in terms of sensitive data is a big plus and exciting for the future of SA businesses
- Initial seeding so that your first backup does not need to take up all your internet data – certain service providers such as Soteria Online Backup offer this as a service.
The future of online data backups in South Africa is an exciting area of growth for companies prepared to embrace modern technology. If you are ready to move with the times but unsure how to proceed, the team at Soteria are always on hand to advise you – contact us today, and put your data firmly in the cloud.