Companies need to protect their data assets. The information an organization stores and processes is its most valuable resource. Its loss can be devastating from a financial and public relations perspective. One method of reliably protecting enterprise data is with an effective backup solution. Many companies can benefit from implementing a cloud backup strategy that keeps enterprise data secure.
What are the Threats to your Enterprise Data?
Organizations need to withstand multiple threats to their enterprise data. Both internal and external actors can be responsible for losing data or making it inaccessible to business-critical systems. Companies need to be aware of and develop plans to address the following risks to their data resources.
Accidental data deletion
Human error is a major cause of data loss. It’s very easy to accidentally delete an important file. In addition to the risks of logically deleting data, an accident such as dropping and damaging an external hard drive or spilling liquid on a laptop can render its data useless.
Deliberate data deletion
Malicious insiders can be responsible for deliberately deleting or corrupting enterprise data. Implementing zero trust and tight access controls can minimize this threat but never completely eliminate it. There is always the possibility that an employee with valid access may choose to delete data resources for inexplicable personal reasons.
Theft
External or internal actors can attempt to steal valuable data and then delete it from enterprise systems. They may be able to achieve financial gain by selling the data or simply want to disrupt the company. Making information that is important for business operations unavailable can cripple a company and impact its ability to serve its customers.
Cyberattacks
Attacks by cybercriminals can cause the loss of data access in multiple ways. Phishing expeditions can plant malware that destroys data or ransomware that holds information captive until the criminals’ financial demands are met. Viruses can corrupt data resources and make information unusable from a business perspective.
Natural disasters
Large quantities of data can be lost due to natural disasters like floods, tornados, or hurricanes. Even hardened data centers cannot always withstand the effects of extreme weather events.
Hardware failure
Data can be lost due to hardware failure. Hard drives without built-in redundancy can fail catastrophically and put enterprise data at risk. Power surges can fry a disk drive and make its data inaccessible. Companies should always have contingency plans that address unexpected hardware failures.
Regulatory noncompliance
Failure to adequately protect sensitive data resources can result in noncompliance with information security and privacy regulations. Backups are essential in complying with regulations such as HIPAA or PCI-DSS. Auditors routinely ask for proof that regulated data is backed up effectively when verifying an organization’s compliance posture.
Backups are a critical component of any viable data protection strategy. They can help recover from the threats discussed above. They provide a method for recovering data that was lost due to human error or other reasons. Backups are also necessary for organizations that process regulated data which must conform to specific security and privacy standards.
Advantages of a Cloud Backup Solution
Backups can be performed in two basic ways. Companies can implement an on-premises backup solution or take advantage of the offerings of cloud providers to protect their data. While both options offer valid approaches to protecting data via backups, there are certain advantages to a cloud-based solution that may influence an organization’s decision when choosing a backup strategy.
Cost
Implementing an on-premises backup solution typically involves the purchase of expensive software and hardware to facilitate backup creation. Companies also need to provide storage media to hold the backups and a secure area in which to store them. Another ongoing cost is involved if they want to store a set of backups offsite.
A cloud-based backup solution eliminates the capital expenses involved in purchasing backup hardware, software, and storage media. A cloud service provider (CSP) furnishes those items with the customer only paying the cost of a backups service and the amount of storage they require. By definition, data backed up to the cloud is already offsite, protecting an organization from the effects of a natural or manmade disaster.
Simplicity
Modern backup systems can be difficult to implement without the required level of technical experience. Cloud backups do not require anywhere near the same technical knowledge to get up and running and can be configured to run in the background, causing minimal impact on computing performance.
Support
Once an on-premises backup solution has been installed, it requires support and management to ensure that it is protecting enterprise data. This means in-house personnel must be available to manage the solution and address any issues that may result in unreliable backups. Supplying these resources may negatively impact other areas of an organization’s IT environment.
Support and management for cloud backups are handled by the technical resources of the CSP. This saves the customer time and money and allows their IT staff to concentrate on optimizing the organization’s processing environment and ensuring maximum productivity.
VAST’s Cloud Backups as a Service (CBaaS)
VAST provides customers with a comprehensive Cloud Backup as a Service (CBaaS) offering that enables any size company to protect its data effectively and efficiently. The features of VAST’s CBaaS offering address the needs of virtually any enterprise and include:
- A fully-managed cloud-based backup solution designed to align with a company’s data protection and business strategies;
- Cutting-edge data protection and backup technology;
- Fixed pricing that allows companies to budget effectively;
- Elimination of the hardware and software costs of an on-premises backup solution;
- Immutable backups that offer long-term data protection and address regulatory requirements.
VAST’s managed backups employ Druva’s inSync backup solution to address specific areas of your IT environment including:
- Backing up Microsoft 365 and other software as a service (SaaS) solutions;
- Protecting data in public cloud environments with flexible backup and recovery policies;
- Hybrid and on-premises computing environments;
- Enterprise endpoints that need to be protected from data loss or ransomware attacks.
Contact VAST and learn how simple it is to get started with their CBaaS offering and raise your data protection to a new level.
