The cloud. It’s pretty much all you hear about these days when discussing technology. But is it all it’s cracked up to be and for a specific and critical function like data backup and recovery, is cloud based backup and recovery the best practice for your organization? The answer, for most organizations, is a resounding yes.

In the old days we used portable hard drives, floppies, tapes, Zip disks or CD-R and DVD-R disks to back up critical data. The backups would be stored in fireproof safes on site or routinely transported to offsite locations on a rotating basis by one or more staff members. The system worked in that all critical files were copied and safe, but then again, they were only as safe as the location of the backup.

Fast-forward to 2015 and you now have the ability to securely upload all critical files or even full disk images to a remote file server and access them from anywhere or at any time. If your entire building burns to the ground, your files are safe, secure and ready as soon as you set up in another location temporarily. You could, in fact, be up and running before the fire trucks even get back to the station, depending on how much data you have and what service you choose.

Your main advantages to cloud based backup are low cost, flexibility, security and ease of data access and recovery in case of a disaster. Once you set up a cloud-based data backup and recovery service, the systems run 24/7 in the background. The systems are monitored in real time using a simple web interface and can be tested to ensure the data is recoverable at any time.

In the event of a disaster or equipment failure, you simply unpack your new computer, and NSA will be able to load your cloud-based backup and recovery solution to ensure business continuity. You no longer have to maintain a local backup system, carry or store backup media, worry about who has the backup or keep track of old tapes or disks.