#1 Cloud Backup

Backup to the cloud involves using storage that’s made available by one or more cloud providers (like AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and more) as a target for backups instead of a more traditional approach where backups are stored in on-premises infrastructure locally. Cloud-based storage can be the primary target for these backups, or they can be a secondary target, whereby backups are initially stored on-premises and subsequently tiered to cloud-based storage based on time and/or access frequency.

The primary benefit of leveraging a cloud target for backups vs. a local target is saving money and resources. Cloud-based backup does not require procurement, maintenance, management and eventual upgrade of hardware and software. Instead, these resources are instantly available on-demand and seemingly infinite and managed by the provider. These resources are also typically on a pay-as-you-go subscription model, so you only pay for what you use, which turns often large capital expenditures (CAPEX) into more manageable operational expenditures (OPEX). There are numerous other advantages , including security (offsite, air-gapped and immutable storage), scalability and accessibility.

Multiple cloud vendors have multiple security options available to protect data from cyberthreats like ransomware. One of the most critical features to look for is immutability, which means that once your backups have been stored, they cannot be changed or deleted until another specified point in time. This ensures clean recovery in the event of an attack that has compromised production services and possibly backups that have not been made immutable.