Just about every document, memory and personal details that we have is in digital format these days. If you have your important data stored to your devices, it is vital that you regularly backup the information.
A few years ago it would have been perfectly acceptable to regularly back your data up to removable hard drives or discs which are then stored in your IT department or home, but that leaves data at risk.
With high speed internet and a number of reputable online backup service providers, the opportunity to back up your data safely, securely and quickly, off-site and out of harm’s way, is a reality and in most instances a better option.
Some people still grapple with the concept of online storage. If this is the case with you, here are a few reasons why you might want to consider moving away from a hard drive backup for all your home and business data.
Mother Nature
The risk of a natural disaster destroying your data is negated. Storing data to hard drives and flash drives means that your information is exposed to the dangers of floods, fires and similar. Chances are that your hard drive isn’t going to make it if a fire breaks out in your office. Backing up online safely stores your sensitive and valuable data where no natural disaster can touch it: in the cloud.
Hardware failure
When your backups are stored in the cloud there’s no way of losing your data due to malfunction or damage. Hard drives aren’t fail proof. You might take the time to religiously backup your data. only to find that your hard drive gives up a few years down the line. And while data can sometimes be recovered from these devices, it costs money and sometimes proves fruitless.
Theft
With online backup the possibility of theft becomes a non-topic. Data thieves might just steal the whole hard drive and then you’re in trouble. Maybe it’s not even someone after your data. It could just be a criminal stealing the hard drive itself. Either way, your data will be lost and you will have no hope of recovery!
Petty Crime
You won’t feel like you’ve lost everything if / when your laptop or computer is stolen. As mentioned in the point above, theft is of real concern in South Africa. Laptops and computers are prime targets of criminals as they are very rarely recovered in this country. With your data stored in the cloud, at least you won’t have lost everything if you are a victim of common South African crime.
Convenience
Forgetting to backup is not something you ever have to worry about if you choose the right service provider. If you’re backing up to an external device manually and you have a busy week, it’s easy to overlook a backup and let’s face it, as luck usually has it, that will be the week that your computer breaks down or ransomware locks up all your files. With online backup services, your data will be backed up automatically for you at a certain time on certain days. All you have to do is let it do its thing.
First backup seeding
With a locally based backup service provider such as Soteria Cloud, you can send your first backup to us on a disc or hard drive and thereafter, schedule your updates online (once we have uploaded your information to the cloud).
At Soteria Cloud we cannot stress enough how important it is to ensure that your data is backed up and encrypted, before it’s too late. We have various packages available for home and business and invite you to chat to us more about the backup features available to you.