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Top 4 Risks Associated with Cloud Backup

Cloud Backup Risks

No matter the vertical, cloud backup solutions have become quite popular among enterprise companies. However, there are still several things to consider about tools that live and work in the cloud. While cloud solutions do provide some advantages to their on-premise brethren, there are still risks associated with storing data in this type of environment. A recent post in the NovaStor Blog highlights this very topic, and quite well, so here is a summary of that post with some of my own commentary.

Here are the 4 risks to be aware of when considering cloud backup tools:

Security

Businesses have long been skeptical about storing data in the cloud, citing security concerns. Though most cloud services use basic security functions such as logins and user passwords, today’s hackers are finding their way around those protocols with relative ease. In addition, if your industry is highly regulated, let’s say you work in healthcare or finance, vendor security measures may not be enough to maintain compliance with those standards, putting critical data at risk. This is where an on-premise or hybrid tool may make the most sense, as keeping local backups handy can ensure that all of the most important data isn’t just floating out there in cyberspace.

Lack of Standardization

All cloud solutions aren’t built in the same way, meaning that each vendor doesn’t follow the same set of protocols when it comes to supporting business. Providers will often differ in what they deem to be “safe” or “necessary” in the development of their tool. Standard support offerings are also something else to keep an eye on, and while some vendors offer a whole lot in terms of assisting companies with deployments, upgrades and issues, others offer very little.

Control over Data

When you back up data via your own on-premise systems, you’ve got full control over what happens with it. When you migrate all of that data into cloud servers in locations unknown to you via a cloud provider, it can feel like you no longer have complete control over it, and to a large extent, this is true. You do still own your data, but it’s important to read the fine print before signing on with any cloud provider to make sure there are no surprises down the road.

Outages

One of the greatest benefits to migrating data to cloud platforms is that you can gain access to it anytime, anywhere, and from a wider variety of devices. However, an internet connection is still required to make this marriage work. If an outage occurs, a company can be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Similarly, if the vendor has an issue, you may not have access to vital data. Both of these situations can have a significant impact on the normal operation of a business.

Cloud platforms do a lot of things that traditional on-premise backup solutions just can’t offer. However, there are still notable risks associated with relying completely on the cloud to hold vital business data. These factors explain why many companies are choosing to go the route of hybrid backup and archival tools, allowing them to gain the security associated with self-service and the convenience of accessibility than only the cloud can offer.

This column was inspired by a post that originally appeared in the NovaStor blog.

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