A remote, online, or managed backup service, sometimes marketed as cloud backup or backup-as-a-service, is a service that provides users with a system for the backup, storage, and recovery of computer files. Online backup providers are companies that provide this type of service to end users (or clients). Such backup services are considered a form of cloud computing. Online backup systems are typically built for a client software program that runs on a given schedule. Some systems run once a day, usually at night while computers aren't in use. Other newer cloud backup services run continuously to capture changes to user systems nearly in real-time. The online backup system typically collects, compresses, encrypts, and transfers the data to the remote backup service provider's servers or off-site hardware. There are many products on the market – all offering different feature sets, service levels, and types of encryption. Providers of this type of service frequently target specific market segments. High-end LAN-based backup systems may offer services such as Active Directory, client remote control, or open file backups. Consumer online backup companies frequently have beta software offerings and/or free-trial backup services with fewer live support options.

History

In the mid-1980s, the computer industry was in a great state of change with modems at speeds of 1200 to 2400 baud, making transfers of large amounts of data slow (1 MB in 72 minutes). While faster modems and more secure network protocols were in development, tape backup systems gained in popularity. During that same period the need for an affordable, reliable online backup system was becoming clear, especially for businesses with critical data. More online/remote backup services came into existence during the heyday of the dot-com boom in the late 1990s. The initial years of these large industry service providers were about capturing market share and understanding the importance and the role that these online backup providers were playing in the web services arena. Today, most service providers of online backup services position their services using the SaaS (software as a service) and PaaS (Platform as a service) strategy and its relevance is predicted to increase exponentially in the years to come as personal and enterprise data storage needs rise. The last few years have also witnessed a healthy rise in the number of independent online backup providers.

Characteristics

Service-based

Ubiquitous access

Scalable and elastic

Metered by use

Cloud Backup is a modern and efficient data backup solution that operates on a native cloud multitenant platform. This advanced platform is specifically designed to share resources among users, which makes data mobility possible for customers. With this solution, customers are not restricted to a single provider and can effortlessly move their data to another provider or back to a dedicated Private or Hybrid Cloud. The security of customer data is of utmost importance, and service providers take all necessary measures to ensure that customer data is always kept private and secure. Such security measures include making sure that customer data is never accessible to other customers. Service providers should also only access customer data with explicit permission. By adhering to these strict security measures, Cloud Backup providers can offer peace of mind to their customers and build trust in their services, making it a reliable and trustworthy data backup solution for businesses of all sizes.

Enterprise-class cloud backup

An enterprise-class cloud backup solution must include an on-premises cache, to mitigate any issues due to inconsistent Internet connectivity. Hybrid cloud backup works by storing data to local disk so that the backup can be captured at high speed, and then either the backup software or a D2D2C (Disk to Disk to Cloud) appliance encrypts and transmits data to a service provider. This adds protection against local disasters. Recent backups are retained locally, to speed data recovery operations. There are a number of cloud storage appliances on the market that can be used as a backup target, including appliances from CTERA Networks, StorSimple and TwinStrata. Hybrid cloud backup is also beneficial for enterprise users who have security concerns. When storing data locally before sending it to the cloud, backup users can perform the necessary encryption operations, incl. technologies like: Data encryption should additionally be applied when you choose a public cloud service provider. The same is important for the compression of backup data. The local backup cache is used to compress the data before sending it to the cloud in order to lower the network bandwidth load and improve backup speed. This becomes critical for enterprises which backup huge databases like Oracle or MS SQL or huge files like virtual machine images or mail server databases (EDB files of Exchange). Recent improvements in CPU availability allow increased use of software agents instead of hardware appliances for enterprise cloud backup. The software-only approach can offer advantages including decreased complexity, simple scalability, significant cost savings and improved data recovery times.

Typical features

Common features for business users

Cost factors

Online backup services are usually priced as a function of the following things: Some vendors limit the number of versions of a file that can be kept in the system. Some services omit this restriction and provide an unlimited number of versions. Add-on features (plug-ins), like the ability to back up currently open or locked files, are usually charged as an extra, but some services provide this built in. Most remote backup services reduce the amount of data to be sent over the wire by only backing up changed files. This approach to backing up means that the customers total stored data is reduced. Reducing the amount of data sent and also stored can be further drastically reduced by only transmitting the changed data bits by binary or block level incremental backups. Solutions that transmit only these changed binary data bits do not waste bandwidth by transmitting the same file data over and over again if only small amounts change.

Advantages

Remote backup has advantages over traditional backup methods:

Disadvantages

Remote backup has some disadvantages over traditional backup methods:

Managed vs. unmanaged

Some services provide expert backup management services as part of the overall offering. These services typically include:

Scheduled vs. manual vs. event-based backup

There are three distinct types of backup modes: scheduled, manual and event-based.