World Backup Day: Utilizing Cloud Technology

On World Backup Day, we look to the increasing use of cloud technology for small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) and share how to best utilize the cloud for data safekeeping. Until recent years, most companies backed up their data locally or at another offsite location. This, however, could still leave information vulnerable to events like hardware failure or natural disasters. The cloud provides a more secure backup option that does not necessarily rely on a physical location. According to a 2019 Unitrends survey, the use of cloud as a data protection strategy has greatly increased over the last four years. It also reports that 84 percent of organizations use the cloud for data storage and backups while small enterprises see even higher adoption rates than mid-size or larger businesses.

When moving sensitive information to the cloud, organizations must develop a comprehensive cloud strategy to protect that data and their businesses as a whole. Rather than simply moving your data to the cloud, it is better to plan, implement and monitor the most appropriate and cost-effective cloud solution tailored to your business. Whether you are working with your internal IT team or a managed security services provider (MSSP), it is important to assess your current IT systems and review various platforms, deployment types and service models. After a complete analysis, we recommend choosing the right cloud platform and technology that best fits your business needs. Post-migration activities should include steps to manage business-critical workloads and infrastructure with ongoing monitoring, patching and administration of your system. Below is a concise overview between types of cloud platforms:

Best Practices

• Use an application to provide complete visibility of cloud data and applying controls over data access and malware prevention.
• Ensure regular backups of important data in several places, such as local and off-site copies in addition to the cloud.
• Keep your system, software and antivirus up to date so that bug fixes and security patches can be effective in blocking cybercriminals and malware.
• Create a company data protection policy to automatically backup endpoint data to the cloud.

Many small to midsize businesses lack the resources or information security staff to develop and implement a comprehensive and secure cloud strategy. That is why outsourcing to a managed security service provider (MSSP) like Valeo Networks may the appropriate solution for your organization. Our experts are adept at leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and the private cloud to create a solution that is right for you. Contact Valeo Networks to request your free cloud migration consultation.