A company’s data can be incredibly valuable. Losing this data as a result of natural disaster, fire, burglary, machinery failure or cybercrime could potentially lead to the failure of your business. This is why having a backup solution is so important. If your main data reserves are destroyed or corrupted or stolen, you can rely on your backed up data. Below are several different ways in which you can back up your business data.
Local server
Instead of just storing data on a hard drive on your computer, you could back it up on a local server. This is an in-house data storage device where all data can be saved onto using an ethernet cable or private network. It’s possible for multiple computers in a workplace to all use this local server to back up their data onto. Such servers can come in various different sizes with different levels of security.
An issue with local servers is that they could be vulnerable to many of the same risks that affect your computers. If there is a flood or a fire and your server is in the same building, your computers and your server will be destroyed. That is unless the local server is placed in a special room that is specially guarded against these dangers.
Cloud server
The most common way to back up data is to use a cloud server. This is a server owned by another company that is not located on your premises. A benefit of cloud servers is that your workers can back up files onto these data storage units from any location around the world. Any local dangers that affect your office will also not affect the cloud server because it is in a different location. It is also possible to cut off a connection more easily between your computers and a cloud server in the event of a local cyberattack than it is with a local server.
Cloud servers can vary greatly in cost depending on how much data storage space you need and whether you opt for a shared server or dedicated server. It is important to compare costs and find the best option for your budget. Unlike a local server, you must be connected to the internet to store files on a cloud server, so it’s also important to make sure you have a good local internet connection. Finally, it’s important to consider the security of the cloud server itself as this can vary between cloud services. Well-established cloud services like AWS and Azure tend to have very robust security. You can compare security levels here at this post AWS Security vs. Azure Security — Strategies for Protecting Your Cloud Footprint.
External hard-drive
An external hard-drive is a device that you can manually back up data onto. They tend to be better suited for smaller individual storage needs. Unlike a local server or a cloud server, an external hard-drive is designed to be portable – this allows you to back up all your files on it from an office computer and then take it home with you in the evening. If a disaster affects your office, your external hard drive will be in a different location. And unlike a cloud server, these hard drives are not connected to the internet unless you connect them to a connected computer.
External hard drives are not practical options for backing up huge amounts of data and cannot be easily shared by lots of different people. They are better for solo business owners and freelancers. Check out this guide to The Best External Hard Drives of 2025 to help you select a hard drive.
A mixture
A lot of businesses use a mixture of different approaches to data backup. This may even include multiple cloud servers. This provides the most secure and robust option by storing data in many different places. Just make sure that this data cannot be easily accessed by the wrong people.
