Choosing The Right Service Provider For Your Cloud Backup Needs

By Author: Drew Fenway
Total Articles: 18
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With more than 2 million terabytes of digital content, cloud backup is no longer an option that companies can afford to ignore. But not all cloud backup companies are alike- they don’t always deliver what they promise. For example, did you know that you can lose all data from your cloud backup server even with proper encryption or that you could end up losing all data by choosing the wrong service provider? Here are a few pointers to help you choose the right company:

a) Although it is important, encryption alone does not guarantee data protection:

Encryption is an essential aspect of data security, but what if an employee working for your data backup company has access to the encryption keys? Some companies offer to hold the encryption keys as an escrow- but here again, the service provider has access to them. And sometimes, keys are stored in an online server. The best to protect data is to ensure a two-stepped process where the encryption key is further encrypted with customer credentials. The token to these credentials can then be stored on the cloud. Only the customer would have access to the key which will be destroyed at the end of every session.

b) Study the contract well and understand the services they provide:

The contract does not always include descriptive information of the services promised by the service provider. If the service provider has promised a set of functionalities, but has not mentioned the same in his contract, he cannot be held liable if in future he decides to abandon them. The vendor may claim that you have contracted with him only for cloud service and this service can be anything that seems fit to him.

c) Does the service provider offer federated search

This feature is very important for large companies that have centers across the country. Federated search allows users to simultaneously search multiple servers through a single user request. This feature is useful when a multi unit company has to track a file or plan a policy across its different locations.

d) Data redundancy services:

Most cloud based servers are actually ground based and hence need protection from elements such as fire, power outage, flood, etc. To protect your data from these factors, some service providers offer data redundancy services across multiple data centers. Their servers are connected to different networks and hence ensure that data is available even in critical times.

e) Cost Factor:

When it comes to cloud backup solutions one size need not fit all, but cloud storage and backup need not be expensive. Clients can pick and choose only services that they need. For instance, some service providers offer self service options to customers to reduce costs.

The author of this article discusses about the importance of cloud back up Kansas city. According to him, if you want to run your business smoothly, it's must to have cloud backup and server backup services. For more information, please visit dataedge.com.