Budgeting for Data Protection: Cloud Backup Solutions

Data Protection on a Budget: Cloud Backup Solutions for Small Businesses

Small businesses are being deliberately targeted by cybercriminals, and the damage from a cyberattack of this kind can be devastating.

One in three SMEs in South Africa has fallen victim to a cyberattack, showing that no business is safe.

The reality is small businesses often don’t have an extensive budget to invest in the cybersecurity solutions that large corporations employ.

However, this doesn’t mean they can afford to ignore data protection at any cost – when the cost of a data breach would significantly impact operations, destroy the company reputation – and significantly, could paralyse finances.  

What should your cybersecurity budget consider?

Establishing a budget for data protection is a critical component of any small business plan.

By implementing basic security measures that include employee education and choosing a cost-effective cloud storage solution to suit a limited budget, small businesses can safeguard their critical files without overspending.

Cybersecurity is a substantial arena and there are many areas to be considered when prioritising your data protection plan and budget that should include:

  • A risk assessment
  • Incident response plan
  • Business continuity plan
  • Employee education
  • Identification and management of networking and website vulnerabilities
  • Regular testing
  • Automated backup plan

Combining peace of mind and the assurance that valuable data is protected from cyberattacks and other risks, Total Data Protection is an excellent secure backup solution designed perfectly for small business needs.

How cloud storage offers secure backup on a budget

Secure cloud storage offers several features to make data protection both secure and affordable. When choosing a package, make sure it ticks these boxes:

  • Scalable Plans – Pay for only what you need, with flexible pricing options tailored to small business needs.
  • Automated backup – Ensure data is regularly backed up without manual intervention, saving time and IT costs.
  • Disaster recovery – In the event of a cyberattack or hardware failure, data can be quickly restored, minimising downtime.
  • Local data centers & compliance – Secure storage that complies with regulations, is loadshedding proof, and offers lower costs than international providers.

Real-world benefits for small businesses

Unlike conventional cloud providers such as Google or iCloud which offer basic and reliable services, Soteria goes several steps further and offers granular control over backups, letting businesses select specific files and set custom schedules.

Soteria’s proactive monitoring ensures backups run smoothly, and versioning allows businesses to revert to previous file versions. These are features that iCloud lacks.

With local backup options and encrypted data protection, Soteria Cloud ensures data is secure and recoverable when needed most.

Conclusion: Affordable data protection is within reach

Data protection doesn’t have to be expensive. With Soteria Cloud, small businesses can secure their information without overspending. Protect your data today with a solution that fits your budget.

Proactive Cybersecurity – One Step Ahead

Preparing for a Cyberattack: Why Proactive Backup Is Your Best Defense

Is there anything you can do to prepare for a cyberattack ahead of time and be ready to restore your valuable data? The answer is a resounding, proactive YES. Here’s what business owners need to know to stay ahead of the online crooks.

Cyberattacks: Not if but when – and what then?

Global cyberattacks continue to be one of the top worries of IT managers and company owners worldwide, with an estimated 5,200 victims of ransomware incidents estimated for this year. These destructive attacks are expected to more than double in 2024.

Disruptive attacks
Image courtesy of QEB

Cybercriminals often see significant financial rewards from these illegal activities , which is why these figures remain alarmingly high. For business owners and managers this means being proactive about cybersecurity is crucial to safeguarding your business against the evolving threat landscape.

Proactive backup is one of the best practices we recommend to all our clients. “Proactive cybersecurity” means anticipating future problems or changes to take appropriate action, immediately. With careful planning “before or in the event of” a cyberattack, you can keep your company information secure and recover quickly in the event of a cyberattack.

Put simply – being proactive means being ahead of the game – being proactive to prevent an attack from taking place rather than reactive once your data is seriously compromised.

Proactive Backup: Staying ahead of the hackers

Simply signing up for a backup service is a good first step towards protecting your company’s data, but that alone is not enough to ensure your critical files are safe in the cloud and accessible when needed.

A proactive approach to backup means ensuring the following steps are taken:

Your files are backed up regularly

Scheduling automatic backups ensures that the latest version of your files is always saved in the cloud. This minimises the risk of data loss resulting from a breach or technical failure, preventing a situation where only outdated versions of files are available for restoration.

The right files are backed up

It’s essential to ensure that critical business documents—such as financial records, proprietary information, and especially client records protected under the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act — are included in your secure cloud folder.

Threats are detected early

Ongoing monitoring is vital. Ensuring any suspicious network activity is promptly reported to your IT manager helps detect cyberthreats at their earliest stages. This enables you to act quickly and take emergency measures to protect your systems.

Total Data Protection puts you in full control

Finding a single solution that blends secure cloud storage, automated backup, and monitoring used to be difficult – until now, that is.

With Soteria Cloud’s Total Data Protection plan you are in total control of your backups with a full range of customisable options. Click the button below to learn more.

Data Backup vs. Disaster Recovery – Total Data Security

Backup vs Recovery – Is Data Backup Enough?  

Secure cloud backup and disaster recovery are two vital components of the type of data protection strategy that every business should be using in 2025. While these terms are often used interchangeably, even by managers and CIOs, they refer to distinctly different services with varying recovery timeframes. 

Understanding the difference between backup and disaster recovery is crucial for any business aiming to safeguard its data in the face of increasing cyberattacks.

Knowing the difference 

While having a data backup is an important first step, it may not be sufficient by itself to address the sophistication of modern cyberthreats or even a natural disaster.

Losing critical business data—whether financial records, client information, intellectual property, or operational documents—could result in devastating consequences and costly downtime. This is precisely the risk businesses face when hit by a cyberattack with only a simple backup in place – and this scenario is all too common as the new year’s cybersecurity trends take shape. 

It’s important to understand the difference between having a complete data recovery plan and a backup system that simply stores a copy of your files in the cloud but has no data recoverability plan in place. This type of backup often creates a false sense of security among staff who then neglect basic security practices. Worse still – an untested backup system could take days or weeks to restore only selected data – at considerable cost to your business.

On the other hand, a complete disaster recovery strategy with full disk images will enable you to restore your data in a matter of seconds ensuring that you have access to your data immediately in the event of a cyberattack.

When data backup isn’t enough

For the sake of clarity – picture the scenario: You take delivery of your new car which comes with all the bells and whistles and a spare key which you give to a relative who lives close to your home in Cape Town.

  • If something goes wrong with the car, regardless of where you might be at the time, you have a physical and online owner’s manual that you can refer to in order to fix the problem.
  • Lose your original car key on a business trip in Johannesburg and it’s another problem entirely. Your key is 1400km away and will need to be couriered from Cape Town causing a delay of at least 2 or 3 days, which means downtime for you and your business meetings.

The spare key analogy is akin to the time spent waiting to access selected files stored in a traditional backup and the delay in restoring your IT infrastructure from scratch. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan offers total data protection, allowing your business to be up and running in minutes rather than hours or days.

Next level information recovery: total data protection 

Total data protection with disaster recovery should also include critical employee training in both data management and disaster recovery. Comprehensive data protection goes beyond basic backups by ensuring that a working copy of your most recent business information is securely stored offsite and readily accessible at a moment’s notice. 

Our Total Data Protection solution takes this a step further by offering fully customisable backup and recovery options for specific applications, giving IT managers and network administrators enhanced control and flexibility.

In the event of a cyberattack, data backed up with TDP will be available almost immediately so that your organisation’s crucial information can be accessed and used to restart your IT infrastructure.

Click here to learn more about total data protection and how it can secure your business. 

Essential Cloud Storage – Cybersecurity

Why Cloud Storage Is Essential for Your Business

Businesses generate and store more data each year, and the recent wave of cyberattacks gripping the country highlights how valuable this information is—not only to businesses but also to cybercriminals.

As businesses scramble to avoid becoming the next victim of a data breach, leak, or ransomware attack, owners and managers are weighing their options for data storage. 

With traditional physical storage, conventional cloud apps, and secure cloud storage emerging as the three main options, we’d like to make the case for encrypted cloud data protection.

Here are some reasons why secure cloud storage offers the gold standard in data protection and how it can benefit any business.

Protection of sensitive information

Businesses handle a variety of sensitive information, from company financial records and new product designs to sensitive client data that could result in serious privacy breaches if it falls into the wrong hands.

In light of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which places an obligation on companies to protect client data to the best of their ability, obtaining the most powerful encrypted storage available has become a necessity.

Financial risk reduction

The monetary cost of a cyberattack can range from tens of thousands to millions of rands, depending on the scale and circumstances of the incident. The reputational damage could be even greater.

Secure cloud storage helps keep your business out of the high-risk landscape that comes with exposure to ransomware and phishing attacks. For a small monthly investment, you could pre-empt losses ranging from five to six figures.

Insider threat mitigation

According to research by Stanford University, 88% of data breaches involve internal actors like staff members. It’s also an unfortunate reality that many data leaks and breaches are the work of disgruntled employees—and it could be the person you least suspect.

  • Zero-trust architecture, which requires full credential verification before file access is granted, coupled with encrypted backups, removes personal trust from the equation.
  • Having a full backup of your valuable files ensures organisational control over your company data, regardless of what actions—good or bad—your team may take.

Customer trust

With news of data breaches being reported daily by the media, customers have developed heightened awareness and concern about how companies safeguard their data.

Having comprehensive and reliable data security in place inspires confidence in your clients as they trust you with their valuable and sensitive personal information. From a practical point of view, secure cloud storage also helps reduce the risk of losing client data in the event of a data breach or cyberattack.

To learn more about Soteria’s Total Data Protection package and how it can secure your business files, visit our product page today or click the button below.

Get Total Data Protection

Doing your Backups | Online Backup

How Often Do you Back Up Your Data Online?

How often does your company back up essential business data? It turns out that the answer depends on which part of the world you live in. 

A recent survey conducted by MyExpressVPN reveals that companies in North America, Europe, and the UK prioritise backup frequency differently. Let’s examine the data in detail and see how your business compares.

France leads the charge in data backup frequency

When managers and IT specialists from four major countries were surveyed about their data backup habits, the French emerged as the most diligent savers. 

  • Twenty-two percent of respondents from France stated that they back up their data daily, while 42% reported conducting weekly backups—the gold standard for cybersecurity efficiency.
  • This places the European nation ahead of Germany, the UK, and the US, all economies typically considered highly efficient. 

Despite their reputation for prioritising leisure, the French have recognised the importance of regular backups in securing vital company data. But what prevents businesses in other countries from following their lead?

Factors that make clients reluctant to back up their data

After identifying the country most committed to performing backups, the survey explored the reasons why other managers back up their data less frequently. 

  • 9% of respondents cited a lack of knowledge, while 6% attributed it to poor backup habits. Meanwhile, 5% found backup packages too complex to use easily.

To explore these concerns more deeply, the survey asked participants what improvements would encourage them to use their existing backup services more often:

  • Forty-one percent requested larger backup capacities at affordable prices, 36% called for simpler backup methods, 35% highlighted the need for enhanced privacy protection, and 34% desired faster backup services.

Given these insights, the responsibility for regular backups doesn’t rest solely on clients. This should act as a wake-up call for service providers to improve their solutions. 

That’s exactly what we at Soteria have done with our new flagship product, Total Data Protection.

The solution: Total Data Protection

This new approach to cybersecurity product meets the exact needs of today’s business cloud storage user, offering unlimited backups at a single monthly price. 

Customers can secure their data for up to five years, with instant access to all versions of their files in the cloud, ensuring ease of collaboration and sharing for teams.

The package also includes highly customisable options, enabling backups for selected applications and allowing IT managers to cater to complex networks, including remote systems.

Here’s how Total Data Protection can help:

  • Prevent data loss: Ensure your business is prepared for any eventuality, with files accessible anytime, anywhere.
  • Mitigate cyber threats: Keep a working version of all files in case your system’s version becomes compromised.
  • Protect against natural disasters: Safeguard your files from damage caused by floods, fires, or system failures.
  • Ensure regulatory compliance: Meet the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) by securing client data effectively.

Find out how Total Data Protection can support your business. Contact us today!