Why Your Backups Should be Stored Off-Site

Modern businesses live and function in the virtual world, so losing data can be like losing the core of your company. Most owners know they should have backups of their files. What many don’t realize though, is that to be truly secure, your backup should not be kept in the same location that your business operates. Most of the scenarios that cause data loss could easily wipe out both your primary storage and backup if they are both in the same location. To truly know your business data is safe, off-site storage is essential.

Natural Disasters

You may have flood, fire, and tornado insurance, but what would happen to all of your irreplaceable business data in the event of a natural disaster? Your server in the next room, unfortunately, would not be immune should a force of nature destroy your company’s computers. Having an off-site data back-up, ideally at least 20 miles away, would allow you to pick up and continue operations much more quickly than starting from scratch. With natural extremes like hurricanes and floods increasing each year, keeping data back-ups in another location is a no-brainer.

Man-Made Problems

Modern businesses must be prepared for disasters caused by other humans, including terrorist attacks. If an attack happens, the one and only priority should be getting personnel to a safe place. Remove the worry of losing valuable digital information by already having an off-site backup in place.

Another man-made problem that many business owners don’t like to think about is the possibility of sabotage. It might be difficult to imagine one of your valued employees becoming disgruntled, but unfortunately, intentional data destruction does happen. Having an off-site backup would keep a vindictive employee from permanently causing damage to your business.

How to Set Up Off-Site Backups

With cloud technology, off-site data back-ups are fairly easy to set up. The majority of cloud providers offer automatic back-ups that they keep on their servers, away from your office. Automatic back-ups are highly recommended, as it takes human error and simply forgetting to update out of the equation.

At the bare minimum, your back-ups should be stored in a different building. Ideally, keep them far enough away that something like a terrorist attack or tornado wouldn’t affect both you and the back-up location. Don’t neglect the security of something as invaluable as your business’s digital files.