Data Backup is the process of saving any business systems information or data in a secure location in case of a disaster situation. Many larger companies have in built data recovery systems and plans in place to combat such events, but small to medium sized business need to begin to think about the consequences of such an event happening to them.

The most pro-active and successful companies are the ones who guard against any future un-certainties, with 2 out of 5 business failing in the few years after a disaster recovery situation occurring.

Different Sources of Data Backup
Generally, there are two main forms of data backup, online and offline, both have their disadvantages and their merits which we will not dig too deeply into. The main distinguishing feature is what it says on the tin, offline and online, quite simply with online data backup it is a relative process to store and access the data at any point remotely through your own PC with a password.

The other option is offline storage options, usually more suitable for the bigger companies simply because of the magnitude and scale involved in holding so much data, generally, this cannot be accessed via the web and needs to be done manually.

As you can see online data backup is faster, easier to access and more manageable. Though because of its very nature (being online), it is still not 100% secure, and in the event of an internal system crash, passwords can be lost and so leaving the data irretrievable or at least time consuming to do so.

Offline is slower and more manual although it does offer the utmost in security both from external viruses etc and quite often the secure servers are locked away in a vault and so are completely safe in events of nature.

For smaller businesses, online data storage is possibly the best option unless the data is so valuable or your business can not function without it.