The Benefits of Backup as a Service (BaaS)

Backup as a Service (BaaS) is a solution that allows you to keep copies of your data in the cloud and call them back when you need to use them. It’s storage, but one that’s done on the cloud.

It’s also potentially unlimited, but you only pay for the storage space that you use. And this is just one of the many attractive things about it.

This article takes you through some of the advantages of this technology, and how you could benefit from having it.

Why Backup as a Service?

We are generating more data than we have ever done. Businesses, for instance, are recording customer and transaction information, digitizing payroll, and supporting their operations with virtual tools. This is happening globally; the sum of data that’s being created as a result is mind-boggling.

The entities that generate all this material—whether they are individuals or organizations –may want to store them somewhere. They could need them to use their material in the future.

Traditionally, we kept our data in hard drives, solid-state drives, and tape drives. These were sufficient when we produced a fraction of the data we churn out today. But as our world became more dependent on digital technology, businesses have shifted away from on-premise storage solutions to the off-premise cloud.

Cloud storage is represented physically by data centers, often run by third party companies. These ‘cloud service providers’ allow their client businesses to store their data on its servers, through virtual storage applications. An example of a cloud service provider in Nigeria is Layer3.

Unlike the older solutions, the cloud offers you potentially limitless storage. And that’s the most important reason why businesses are adopting BaaS.

How Backup as a Service Works  

You probably know what a backup means. It’s saving copies of data somewhere so you can retrieve them if the other copies are lost.

The “as a Service” component means that it’s backup that you can purchase. You could pay for backup capacity that suits your needs. There’s no fear that your service provider will run out of it, so you can always scale up your backup capacity if you’re able to pay for it.

BaaS becomes useful when there’s been a loss of data. This could happen due to human error, power outage, a natural disaster, or even a cyber-attack. If you don’t have backup for your files before any of these things happen, you risk losing them permanently. But if you have backed up your files, you’ll still be able to access them even if they are removed from your systems.

Cloud service providers also help you with Disaster Recovery, which allows you to get your data and applications running again within a few minutes of losing your first copies.

What You Can Enjoy With BaaS

1. Unlimited Storage

Hard drives have limited storage capacity. This is a drawback for organizations that produce huge amounts of data that they need to backup. The cloud doesn’t have this problem.

In 2018, there were about 33 Zettabytes (33 trillion gigabytes) of data housed in the global cloud. That’s a lot more than all the information stored on every device on the planet, combined. By 2025, we could have up to 125 Zettabytes of data on the cloud. And we’ll still be able to host more on it afterward.

2. Pay as You Use

You may set up onsite storage and wind up using just a fraction of its capacity. This would mean that you have spent more money per unit storage than you should have.  It’s the sort of loss you may encounter if you’re using on-site storage hardware.

The cloud lets you avoid this sort of thing. You can scale up or scale down your BaaS capacity very quickly; all you’ll need is to pay the commensurate fee for the scale of service. This can save you a lot of costs, and free up resources that you can allocate elsewhere in your business.

3. Managed Service

What BaaS does is hand the maintenance of storage to another party. But they are not just ‘another party’. Cloud service providers like Layer3 are experts at what they do. They can draw on their experience with the cloud and IT infrastructure when they manage your storage.

This is more cost-effective than handling your storage in-house. You won’t have to spend a lot of money hiring extra IT staff or training existing employees to manage storage equipment.

4. Easier Data Recovery

It could take you days to recall data that you have stored on your hard drive. You will need much less time to retrieve the same amount of data from the cloud. And if you’re using Disaster Recovery, it will take you only a few minutes to get your lost files back up.

This could be the difference between your business operating at a fraction of its capacity for a week or more and running smoothly even when there’s been a major disruption.

5. Support

If you encounter issues with your backup, you can always ask them to help you resolve them. And if you have any questions about how the service works, you can contact them for answers as well. Traditional storage doesn’t come with these added advantages.

Conclusion

Without adequate backup for your files and applications, you risk losing them forever. It’s a risk you shouldn’t take if you want your operations to run smoothly.

Layer3 provides remote backup service to several organizations in Nigeria. This BaaS solution allows clients to choose their preferred backup location and also secures their data so that it remains accessible to them. When disaster strikes and onsite data are lost, they can always retrieve them from our cloud, quickly, and with little effort.

If you would like to boost your organization’s storage capacity with cloud storage, you can reach out to us, and we’ll get it done for you. Contact us here to request a demo.