Importance of cloud backups

With the evolution of technology, companies have undergone many changes in recent years. The digitisation of processes can affect all departments of a business. Customer information, personal data, purchase and sales histories, financial data and legal documents are some of the most important data that businesses usually handle for their proper functioning. But have you ever wondered what would happen if you lost it? 

The fact of having this type of information in digital form does not mean that it is exempt from suffering some kind of setback and harming our business. Whether due to technical circumstances (the local server, computer, hard disk, etc. breaks down) or security (mistaken deletion of files or cyber-attack), the loss of information can cause major problems on both a professional and personal level. 

To avoid this type of incident and to secure the company's information, it is advisable to make backup copies from time to time, as this duplicates the information and stores it in an alternative location. For this reason, if data is deleted or corrupted, it can be recovered, thus avoiding more than one worry. 

Nowadays, thanks to digital transformation, cloud backups have changed the way data is protected. According to Statista, cloud storage will grow exponentially in Spanish companies by 2020. But what is the difference between cloud backups and other backups? 

Cloud backups are just like any other backup, but the information is stored on the internet. In other words, cloud storage is a data storage model in which data can be accessed, managed and stored on third-party servers online, where the information is available and accessible to the user at any time. 

What information should be copied? 

It is advisable to make an inventory of information assets to determine which of them will be backed up according to their criticality for the business. This information can be classified according to its level of accessibility or confidentiality, its usefulness or its impact in case of theft, deletion or loss. The purpose of this procedure is to have a record of all data that are essential to the business. In this way, it will be possible to determine the periodicity of the copies and what their content will be. 

Benefits of cloud backups: 

• Cost reduction: Cloud backup costs less compared to the expense of servers, software and hardware needed for physical backup. 

• Immediacy: data can be accessed from anywhere and at any time, only an Internet connection is needed. 

• External information: by not having the backup copy within the company, if any incident occurs, the information will always be protected in the cloud. 

• Increased security: Cloud backups offer better security measures as data is stored on encrypted and secure systems and servers, minimising risks. 

Although these characteristics are met by most cloud storage servers, it is very important that we also take into account the confidentiality and integrity of the information stored. To do this, encryption tools can be used to protect our data. By uploading encrypted information to the cloud, the likelihood of privacy being compromised by unauthorised access is greatly reduced. 

In other words, encryption is a technical process that converts information into a secret code, thus hiding the data being sent, received or stored. In this way, the information can only be decrypted by means of a key that the recipient will have. According to Incibe, "the encryption of information should be carried out using public cryptographic methods considered secure, avoiding those whose robustness is not proven. 

As you will see, backing up our business in the cloud can ensure not only the protection of our company, but also the security and privacy of our customers' data.