What is Online Backup?

Online backup is a method used to backup and store computer files using an online system. It is a secure way for a person or a company to safe guard their information against accidental loss. With online backups the user can select whether they want to backup their information manually or to run it on a schedule. For companies that need their information constantly backed up there are also methods such as continuous data protection (CDP) that makes sure everything is backed up in near real time.

Online backup is a popular method for many companies as it offers a cost effective alternative to storing their own backups. It means that a company doesn’t have to pay the initially expensive outlay purchasing all of the hardware needed and also don’t have the maintenance costs of keeping the hardware up to date. When using an online backup supplier you also get the support of industry experts which would be another cost to a company if they were backing up their own data. Another major benefit is that the data is stored in a separate secure location.

Managed online backups

Many online backup suppliers offer their services to manage your backup schedules to make sure everything you need is regularly backed up with the information needed. The major benefit of having your backups managed by a professional company is that they will set up the all of the configurations meaning the backups will always work. They will also monitor the backups to make sure that they have taken place when scheduled and that the information is complete.

The benefits include:

• Assistance configuring the initial backup
• Continuous monitoring of the backup processes on the client machines to ensure that backups actually happen
• Proactive alerting in the event that any backups fail to upload
• Assistance restoring and recovering data

Typical features of online backup suppliers

Open file backup

Using an online backup supplier will allow the option of backing up open files. This means that the customer avoids server down time and allows the backup to run at anytime of the day or night without any loss of data.

Multi-platform

Online backup suppliers will offer the compatibility of multiple platforms such as Windows, Macintosh and Linux/Unix.

Continuous backup - Continuous Data Protection CDP

Continuous Data Protection allows a company’s information to be continuously backed up. This is vital for some companies such as large retailers and financial institutions who need all information to be secure at all times. The down side of CDP is that it often uses a lot of resources therefore there is a trade off between the performance and the systems resources.

Data compression

As online backup is conducted over the internet the data needs to be compressed to save the amount of bandwidth used. With compressed data the backup will also be far quicker without losing any of the information.

Transfer encryption

With the backups being sent over the internet it is vital that the information is secure. All online backup companies encrypt the data that is being backed up to ensure that information can’t be intercepted in a meaningful format.