Archives and backups are, as we have established before, a critical component of your data management strategy. Both safeguard your data going forward, and protect your organization from various degrees of risk. In the last years, a large portion has focused on a transition to archives and backups as a service. Let’s look at what this means, and what it can do for you:
What is Archive as a Service?
AaaS/BaaS is a managed service where a third-party provider stores an organization’s data in the cloud. As opposed to an organization performing its own backups onsite – which can require significant infrastructure investments – a BaaS provider maintains backup infrastructure and stores data in a public, private or hybrid cloud environment.
This can be a significant help in terms of cost-savings or even risk mitigation; Even when backed up locally, servers and systems can be corrupted by cyberattacks, outages, failures, natural disasters or other events. Backup-as-a-Service helps sidestep some of these issues, offloading onto the Cloud (which solves issues related to local storage) while also offloading the need for in-house expertise and management.
When is an Archive as a Service not right for you?
Archive and Backup as a Service has positives – but also drawbacks. Chief among these is a lack of direct ownership, lack of direct control and lack of skill development. Not having to invest into infrastructure is an advantage in terms of cutting costs, but means organizations will encounter a far greater degree of lock-in than if they exercised direct control over their systems.
The same applies to human resources; much of the advantage of AaaS/BaaS is in passing off the costs associated with staff – not only maintaining a team but hiring, training and overhead – onto a partner that handles it for you. But in doing so, you also ensure that your organization is entirely reliant on an outside partner and lacks the skills internally.
Finally, it’s important to realize that offloading onto the Cloud is not necessarily a cure-all solution; Cloud centers can run into issues, same as local storage. Cloud-based systems can and do fall prey to cyberattacks. Using a partner company’s Cloud infrastructure can give you advantages, but should not be treated as an unambiguously correct choice.
Balancing business needs
The main approach that companies should take is to take a hard look at their current data structure and make hard decisions about what key aspects are for you. Questions abound – do I use the Cloud, do I use local storage on-premises, or do I make a hybrid of the two? Do I license a software solution, or do I effectively pass it on to a partner company to handle? Balancing your business needs will likely give you the response.
Your Data In Your Hands – With TECH-ARROW
