1. What Is Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage is primarily designed to make files accessible and easy to share.

Employees can store documents online, collaborate with colleagues and access files from different devices.

This can be extremely useful for modern businesses.

However, simply storing a file in the cloud doesn't necessarily provide every type of protection a business may need.

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2. What Is a Backup?

A backup is a separate copy of data maintained so that it can be restored if the original data is lost, damaged, deleted or otherwise unavailable.

A proper backup solution should consider how long data needs to be retained and how quickly it needs to be restored.

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3. Accidental Deletion Can Still Happen

Cloud platforms often include recovery and retention features, but these have limits and vary depending on the service and configuration.

A user accidentally deleting important files can still create a business problem.

A separate backup strategy can provide an additional recovery option.

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4. Ransomware Is Another Consideration

If an account or synchronised device becomes compromised, malicious changes can potentially affect files stored through cloud services.

Businesses should consider whether their backup solution provides appropriate protection against ransomware and accidental changes.

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5. Microsoft 365 Data Should Be Considered

Businesses using Microsoft 365 often rely heavily on email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams.

These services are critical business systems and should form part of the organisation's overall data protection strategy.

Understanding what is already protected and what requires additional backup is an important step.

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6. The Best Approach May Use Both

Cloud storage and backup don't have to be competing solutions.

Businesses can use cloud platforms for collaboration and accessibility while maintaining an appropriate backup solution for recovery.

The right approach depends on the business, its data and its recovery requirements.

Final Thoughts

Cloud storage is an important part of modern business IT, but it shouldn't automatically be considered a complete backup strategy.

Businesses should understand what their cloud platforms protect, what they don't, and how important data would be recovered following accidental deletion, hardware failure or a cyber incident.

Westgate Technology can help assess existing backup arrangements and recommend appropriate cloud and backup solutions.