Why Cloud Data Backup Services Matter for Los Angeles Distributors

Author: Craig Pollack Date: Dec 28, 2017 Topics: _Distribution and Manufacturing Blogs

In business, profit margins and inessential luxuries often do not get along. However, safeguarding your company’s data is no luxury — it’s essential. Information drives many mission-critical functions for Los Angeles distributors and impacts everything from warehousing and shipping to reseller billing. This is where having data backups stored on the cloud can serve as a lifeline for your business.

Why Cloud Data Backup Services Matter for Los Angeles Distributors.pngLost data, whether via system failure or malicious cyber attacks, is an expensive cost to businesses worldwide. Each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information is estimated to cost companies $141, and the average cost of a data breach is now more than $3.6 million globally, according to the “2017 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Overview” by Ponemon Institute and IBM. 

Interruption of your organization’s information supply can quickly lead to terminal arrest for your business. So does this mean that cloud data backup services are necessary? Or are they just one possibility among many? Let’s take a look at some of the available options.

First Things First: What to Look for in Data Backup Services

However you choose to approach the data backup process, it is important that solution ensures that backups are:

  • Kept in a location that is unaffected by operational failure in your primary IT facility
  • Efficiently and rapidly transferred to that other storage location
  • Kept safe in secure, reliable, and incorruptible data storage systems
  • Immediately available for recovery and use at any time

The right solution also should provide the best value for money and ease of use compared to other options.

Starting The Beauty Backup Contest

Not every backup method meets the criteria mentioned above For example, if a distributor opts to backup their data from one local IT server or local disk storage to another so they are all still housed within the same facility, it could be disastrous should an emergency occur. Fires, floods, lightning strikes, and building denial of access can destroy all of your backups if they’re not stored in separate locations. In addition, if available on-site backup storage space is exhausted, adding resources often requires sizable capital expenditure for a new IT resource.

Why Easy Access Matters

Another method of data backup includes backup tapes. You can make backup tapes of your data that can be shipped off to a secure archival site for storage, which solves the co-location issue. However, the problem with this method revolves around the speed of recovery in the event of data loss. Tape cartridges must be physically brought back on site and accessed via a tape reading device that is specific for your tapes. Key files also cannot be recovered individually: All of the tape’s content must be restored before a search for even one small but essential file can be conducted.

Cloud Data Backup Services

With the right service provider, the cloud offers the advantages of disk-based rapidity and flexibility, with the kind of scalability and cost-efficiency you can expect from tape backups. The data transfer that is done over the web can also be accelerated by only transferring new or modified data. Top-tier cloud data center facilities offer high levels of protection with replication of files between different data centers for enhanced security. The pay-as-you-go cloud pricing model contains costs and makes them more manageable.

Your One And Only Data Backup Solution? Don't Limit Yourself!

Your backup solution doesn’t have to be limited to only one option. You can use cloud services as an add-on and an overflow solution to your other method. Best-in-class providers guarantee both the integrity and confidentiality of your sensitive data, but you can still choose which data and how much of it you want to store in the cloud. You can also review and change your choice as your business needs and priorities change. The combination of affordability, performance, and robustness of cloud data backup services makes them a necessary item on any shortlist of solutions.

Let us know your thoughts: Do you think cloud-centric distributors have an advantage over their competitors? Share your perspective and experiences in the comments box below.

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Author

Craig Pollack

Craig Pollack

Craig is the Founder & CEO of FPA Technology Services, Inc. Craig provides the strategy and direction for FPA, ensuring its clients, business owners, and key decision makers leverage technology as efficiently and effectively as possible. With over 30 years of experience building the preeminent IT Service Provider in the Southern California area, Craig is one of the area’s leading authorities on how small to mid-sized businesses can best leverage and secure their technology to achieve their business objectives.

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