If you’ve ever imaged how horrible it would be to lose your business’s critical data to theft, ransomware, drive failure or a natural disaster, then you already know that you need some kind of regular data backup system. But how should you go about backing up your precious data -- by copying it onto local drives and removable media, or by making a copy that lives on a remote server? Let’s examine the respective pros and cons of on-site and off-site backup strategies.

On-site backup refers to any kind of backup that is stored in the same location as the original data source. If your source drive fails, you can simply reach for the backup to get up and running again very quickly. There’s one obvious downside to this approach: The same natural disaster or burglary that robs you of your original copy could rob you of your backup as well.

Off-site backup refers to any backup that is always kept in a different location that your primary data source -- either on a cloud server, or physically transported to a different site. Automated, cloud-based data backup can be an extraordinarily efficient means of keeping the latest version of your data secure, no matter what may happen to your main data source. The only potential snag here is the fact that it may take longer to access your backup following an emergency loss of data, especially if you’ve lost Internet connectivity at the same time.

As you can see, on-site and off-site backup both have their good points -- so which method should you use? Our IT managed services team says: Use both! We can enhance your on-site backup procedures with automated remote backup to our secure servers for the safest combination of both worlds. Contact Gravity Systems and let’s talk about it!

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