Your company’s data resources are its most valuable asset, with the exception of its people. Today’s data-centric business landscape emphasizes an organization’s ability to monetize its information and drive competitiveness in its market sector. Businesses must protect this precious commodity from a continuously evolving array of threats from external and internal entities.
Companies have several options when selecting a data protection strategy. They can implement and manage an in-house solution that gives them complete control over the process. Teams may face challenges in providing the necessary level of data protection due to a lack of time and technical skills. These challenges may result in gaps in coverage that put the business at risk.
Managed backups offer companies an effective and efficient data protection solution that can be particularly attractive to SMBs with limited financial and technical resources. Companies can achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) by implementing managed backups to safeguard their data. We will examine some of the specific ways managed backups make financial sense for your organization while keeping your data secure.
Why Do You Need a Data Protection Solution?
Before investigating the advantages of managed backups, it is sensible to consider why you need a viable data protection solution in the first place. You may be tempted to relegate data protection to an afterthought, focusing on using the resource to address business objectives. This approach is dangerous and unnecessarily exposes your company to numerous risks.
In addition to being very valuable, your company’s data resources are vulnerable to multiple threats. The following scenarios illustrate the importance of a robust data protection scheme.
- Cyberattack – Your company can still be vulnerable to a damaging cyberattack despite maintaining a strong cybersecurity posture. External threat actors can execute a malware attack that corrupts data or deploy ransomware, making mission-critical information inaccessible.
- Insider threats – Your business can lose data due to intentional or accidental insider threats. A malicious insider with access to sensitive data can steal, delete, or corrupt the information. Trusted employees can unintentionally delete a vital database, which can affect your ability to service customers.
- Hardware or software failure – Your organization can be severely impacted by the failure of hardware and software infrastructure components. A faulty software update can corrupt or delete valuable data. Similarly, the failure of a storage device can put business-critical information out of reach.
- Natural disasters – Companies may have no recourse against natural disasters without a data protection plan. Data centers can be destroyed or made inaccessible by earthquakes, hurricanes, or extreme climactic events.
What is Managed Backup?
Managed backup is a third-party service where the vendor assumes responsibility for managing the backup solution. The provider’s skilled technical team manages backups from the customer’s facility to the cloud. The third-party team may also be involved in recovery activities, which can be especially helpful for clients with limited technical staff.
A reliable managed backup solution allows you to focus on your core business activities with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your data is protected. As we’ll see, a managed backup strategy can also be a wise investment.
How a Managed Backup Strategy Provides Healthy ROI
Businesses typically have limited financial resources available to support their IT environment. Decision-makers need to maximize IT spending and ensure a positive ROI to support other business activities and objectives. Companies must view data protection via a managed backup solution as a strategic investment rather than simply as an unavoidable cost of doing business.
Let’s examine some of the ways engaging a managed backup partner is a good business investment.
Lowering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Companies can achieve a lower TCO by opting for managed backups versus an in-house solution. The managed backup solution eliminates the need to build and maintain an on-premises infrastructure, reducing capital expenses. Businesses can reduce operational costs with a subscription-based model and predictable pricing, while benefitting from the provider’s expert technical staff.
Minimizing downtime
Businesses that rely on their IT environment cannot afford unexpected downtime. While the exact cost of downtime varies based on a company’s size, the length of the outage, and the criticality of the affected components, it’s an expense you don’t want. Companies can face reputational damage from downtime and may be non-compliant with regulatory standards.
A managed backup solution enables faster recovery times by leveraging the vendor’s team’s expertise and the availability of cloud backups. The reduced downtime provides increased revenue and customer satisfaction.
Preventing data loss
Companies can prevent data loss with the protection provided by managed backups. The loss of sensitive data or intellectual property can severely damage a company’s reputation and competitive edge. Teams can utilize cloud backups to quickly recover from cyberattacks or accidental deletions. The ability to recover data rapidly can help a company avoid compliance penalties and legal action from affected parties. Managed backups can pay for themselves by preventing a single data loss episode.
Growing with your business
Managed backups leverage the virtually limitless scalability of the cloud to grow seamlessly with your business. Your data center does not need to be refreshed to handle increased workloads. Your company saves money by avoiding overprovisioning to address potential growth and only pays for the storage and backup functionality it needs.
Enhancing security and compliance
Managed backups feature end-to-end encryption and off-site replication, two essential factors in maintaining regulatory compliance. Backup providers will work closely with your team to understand the specific regulatory requirements of your environment and ensure that the solution addresses all relevant points. The provider will also offer monitoring and install security updates to minimize vulnerabilities.
VAST’s Managed Backup Data Protection Solution
VAST has your back with a reliable and flexible managed backup solution that protects your data, allowing you to concentrate on your business. Our team manages the entire backup process from setup to testing and troubleshooting to ensure your data is always available. Our experts can also help you protect your business by designing and implementing a disaster recovery plan built around managed backups.
Contact our team today and let us manage your backups to protect your valuable data.
