A backup, also called data backup, is the copying of data to another storage medium to enable its restoration in case of data loss. This protects against loss due to technical failures, accidental deletion, or cyber attacks.
Backups are crucial in a digital world to protect important data of businesses and individuals. They minimize operational downtime and secure personal as well as business-critical information.
Backup vs. Data Archiving: Difference
While backups enable quick recovery, data archiving serves for long-term storage of rarely used information. Backups are regularly overwritten, whereas archives remain unchanged.
Types of Backups
There are various types of backups, including the following:
Full backup: Comprehensive copy of all data, ideal for complete restorations.
A full backup of data is an essential backup measure for companies today. In the event of a complete system failure, or if data is lost due to hardware defects or malware, the full backup allows for complete restoration of the IT infrastructure. A side effect is that compliance and auditing processes are facilitated.
However, since a full backup requires spatial and temporal capacities, it is also a challenge. If data volumes are particularly large, extensive storage solutions are necessary. Additionally, while being performed, the backups can affect the performance of networks and systems.
Cloud backups: This type of online backup scores particularly well in terms of high scalability, easy accessibility, and cost-efficiency. As cloud providers usually implement high security measures, data security is also high. However, companies and individuals should look more closely into data sovereignty and data protection, as the GDPR criteria are circumvented by most cloud solutions of the hyperscalers.
