Off-site data protection is popular today because of the security that it provides. This is one of the strategies of businesses of sending critical data into an off-site location as a part of a recovery plan during disasters. The term “off-site” or “off the main site” means that the storage is somewhere far away from the primary company location or establishment.

The information is transported out of the primary site with the help of the internet automatically. There’s also an option for manual transport that involves optical storage, magnetic tapes, and other removable storage media. Most of them can be sent through electronic means through remote backup recovery services like e-vaulting. Sending backups on an off-site location will ensure that the servers will be filled with the latest information in case of a system crash, accidental error, or environmental disaster. Sending all the essentials into another secure location will prevent inside jobs of hacking and tampering with consumer data.

Most big organizations manage their off-site backups. However, there are data vaulting services for small to medium enterprises that are helpful when they don’t have the budget to hire a full-time staff for data storage. Other pieces of information to know about are in the following.

Information about the Data Vaults

The off-site storage system is also known as vaulting. The backups are stored inside a vault that’s specifically built for this purpose. There are no international standards or recognized sizes when it comes to these vaults. However, they generally fall into the following categories:

  • Dedicated vaults that are free-standing
  • Underground vaults that were often conducted from disused mines, defunct military tunnels, or communication facilities
  • Chambers with insulated facilities which exist inside a building

Know that the company can still access these files whenever they need them. It’s just all the information on a computer is regularly backed up on a server that’s located in another area and this is possible as long as there’s an internet connection. This rationale is to back up everything in case of a catastrophic data loss such as technical failure, theft, and natural disasters. These risks are virtually eliminated even if the entire building collapses. Your data is safe and can still be recovered with the help of reliable off-site storage.

With the aid of a compatible web browser and an internet connection, the company’s staff can access their folders and files, and they will appear as if they are stored on an external location in the form of a hard drive. Many enterprises know precisely why they need to protect their precious assets and the steps they need to take to ensure that they are secure.

There’s always the threat of viruses, hardware failure, malicious actions, human error, loss of a laptop, theft, and many more that will result in a loss of data. Learn more about what to do when your computer is infected by a virus when you click here. This can cost a business significantly and may even result in the loss of their customers’ trust. 

On the other hand, off-site data is affordable and secure. This is an alternative to the traditional backup solutions of external hard drives, USBs, and disks. Some may choose the tape backup solution alternative that’s also effective. However, the initial investment is something that many small businesses find to be expensive. There’s also a need to hire additional staff that will operate and support the system, which will be a hassle. 

The tape backup solution alternative might be effective, but the costs that business owners are facing are extensive. They are not simple to operate, and they can cause delays, especially in times of crisis. Off-site data storage has repeatedly proven that it’s effective in recovering information without any delays, and this is a modern solution that many should try.

Who Uses these Systems?

Many businesses in the world and the US use off-site data storage. Many organizations with a decent and reliable internet connection can benefit from this system regardless of their size. There’s no substitute for this product, which is why major corporations have chosen this as their way of recovery after a disaster. The entire product is secure, efficient, and flexible.

About the Security of the Backups

You need to look for a company that has been in the industry for decades doing backups for various bigger organizations. This way, you can be assured that they are safe and secure. Most of them offer end-to-end encryption because data should always have complete security. 

As a business owner, you wouldn’t want anyone else to access your data and give it to your competitors in the industry. This happens all the time with the backup tapes because anyone in the company can pocket them at night and take them to your industry rivals. 

Backup tapes are generally encrypted so anyone can read them. They can then gain access to your client’s email, payroll, identification numbers, tax information, billing records, and everything else. This does not happen in software encryption as nobody, even the third-party providers, can read them.

The online backup services ensure that everything is secure when it leaves the servers. From its way to the servers until you restore it, there’s end-to-end encryption that will ensure that the transaction is secure. During the transit, there’s no way to know the contents of your folders and files since this can only be decrypted with keys that are in your possession.

Benefits to Know About

Insurance

You can get a discounted rate on your insurance company when they find out that you’re utilizing off-site data storage systems. Some will give you an accredited list of third-party providers they trust, and others will provide an assessment of how much discount you can get with this step.There’s also cloud insurance to know about here: https://searchdisasterrecovery.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-insurance.  

More Convenience

The process is automatic, and there’s no need for you to go to the off-site location to store data. Others do offer manual operations, but everything is up to you. The backup will be scheduled hourly or daily, and this will eliminate the need for your staff to store data once in a while and instead focus on their tasks for the day.

Reliability

Most of the providers will store your information with the use of high-quality mirrored disk servers. These are regularly maintained, and other people are checking their reliability and ensuring that the data can be restored right away when you need them.