We have been working hard for the past months and are happy to announce that the new MSP360 Managed Backup 5.2 is finally here! This massive milestone release introduces the new backup format, which allows for a number of amazing features. Continue reading
Some believe that backups are a routine that should be set and forgot about. Such people also believe that ransomware attacks, downtime caused by hardware failures, and human mistakes that lead to data loss are things that happen to people in the news, or topic starters on Reddit – in other words, to someone else. Continue reading
The “as a service” model refers to a solution, a platform, or a product that is provided and managed for an internal or external client by a third-party agent. This model is popular nowadays due to its flexibility and simplicity for the customer. You don’t need to find, test, and integrate the solution yourself; you just have to find a solutions provider, who will manage everything IT, leaving you with only the business-related tasks.
Needless to say, there is everything as a service nowadays, starting from analytics up to quality assurance. In this article, though, we will discuss why and how to implement backup as a service within an organization.
The backup as a service model, or BaaS for short, applies to backup management performed by a third-party service provider for its customer. Backup management typically includes:
The BaaS model allows an end user to delegate all data backup needs to a service provider, ensuring data safety according to service level agreements between parties. It's a perfect model for both small companies without an internal IT department, who can rely on a provider to perform IT routines for them, and for big companies who want to build an ITSM/ITIL-style relationship between their departments.
Further reading Backup as a Service vs Disaster Recovery as a Service: The Difference Explained
According to a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance, 37% of SMBs who have experienced data loss have suffered a financial loss, 25% have filed for bankruptcy and 10% went out of business.
With the number of cybersecurity attacks growing each year and IT infrastructures getting more complex, it is clear why organizations should employ the more user-friendly and convenient BaaS model. Here are more pros for it:
Further reading 6 Benefits of Backup as a Service
However, on the other hand, there are several challenges and concerns regarding the integration of the cloud backup as a service model within an organization. These factors need to be considered, so you can make a well-rounded decision:
At this point, you may be wondering how to find an external BaaS provider, or how to develop an in-house backup as a service solution?
If you are looking for a provider to do backups for you, contact several big companies on the market. They will be able to assess your budget and needs, define the proposition and outline the service level agreement. Together you should classify your data, and define the backup and recovery methods for the various platforms and operating systems you use.
If you are building an in-house BaaS solution, you should first define the needs of your business and establish your recovery point and recovery time objectives in order to find the appropriate software and, if needed, hardware. Thus, you also need to classify the data, choose the platforms for backup, and put together a backup and disaster recovery plan.
It's not always easy to choose a vendor that will provide you with backup as a service. If you are having a hard time picking one, here's a screening list that should help you:
If you have several candidates with greatly varying price points for a similar offering, find out why there is such a difference. Remember, the best choice is not always the cheapest nor, indeed, the most expensive solution.
Further reading 4 'Must-Have' Features of the Managed Backup Software
If you are looking for a ready BaaS solution for your own business, MSP360 Managed Backup will provide you with everything you need – a flexible cross-platform backup solution that is managed from a single pane of glass. You won't need to build a costly local infrastructure, as MSP360 is integrated with the biggest cloud storage providers out there and also provides you with local backup options for better data protection.
By now, you’ve probably noticed that backup-related terminology can be pretty confusing at times. So, of course, it’s understandable if you occasionally find yourself lost or, perhaps, having trouble choosing the appropriate backup configuration. Continue reading
If you own a license of MSP360 Backup and need to extend its functionality, there’s no need to buy a new license. You can upgrade the existing one on our website just by paying the difference. To do this, follow these instructions.
A complex backup procedure requires a solid backup plan. GitLab.com, a multi-million dollar company, learned this the hard way after losing more than 300GB of data due to a failed backup procedure. Continue reading
Businesses frequently turn to SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365 because they are convenient. They eliminate the need to deploy and manage software on your own servers. That doesn’t mean that SaaS solutions free you from having to manage security. Although SaaS providers manage some facets of security, they delegate many security-related matters -- especially related to data protection and security -- to their customers through a shared responsibility model. Continue reading
If a customer's backup fails, your customer can lose everything (personnel data, customer information, etc.), unless, of course, you’re avoiding a single point of failure with a multi-cloud backup solution. And if that’s the case, you’re in good hands. Continue reading
If you’re responsible for managing backups in an organization, then you might have been asked to author a backup policy (but been unsure about what exactly it entails). A backup policy is a formal document setting out the high-level governance of backups within an organization. Continue reading
If you’re a managed service provider (MSP) offering backup as a service (BaaS) for clients, then architecting your technology stack in the most efficient way is an important part of delivering value to your customers. Continue reading
Some IT professionals believe that having automated data backups enables them to perform disaster recovery. As many of you know, this is far from the case.
To create a robust disaster recovery plan, you must understand the concepts, terms, and definitions that underlie it. In this FAQ section, we'll go over the main approaches and topics for disaster recovery and give you links to other guides that go into more detail on most of these topics. Continue reading
When it comes to the world of backup, all that glitters isn’t… truly backup.
To best protect your data, it’s essential to distinguish between approaches that could truly be considered backup and those which are better amalgamated under a heading which could be termed “backup-like”. Continue reading
