The Best Cloud Data Backup West Sacramento

Choosing a cloud data backup vendor in West Sacramento

Backing up to physical devices may still have its uses in some niche situations, but these days, for most SMBs, backing up directly to the cloud can be a far better option and a good cloud data backup vendor in West Sacramento can help to make everything straightforward. Here are some points to consider when you are looking for one.

Reliability Of Cloud Data Backup

Keep security front and center at all times

First of all, your data is going to need to be transported over a network connection and if you’re backing up to a public cloud, the chances are it’s going to need to be transported over the public internet. That means it needs to be encrypted. It also needs to be encrypted if it makes a return journey to your “home” cloud(s) i.e. if you need to restore from one of your backups. These days, that is non-negotiable and you will need to check how a vendor manages it.

You’ll also need to investigate how a vendor protects data “at rest”. This will include a combination of exercising top-quality physical and cybersecurity at their end (with appropriate vetting of staff) and providing you with tools to enforce robust access-management policies and processes. In particular, you want the ability to disable (potentially) compromised accounts quickly and the ability to implement two-factor authentication.

If you’re required to comply with specific compliance programs, then you’ll need to check explicitly that any potential cloud data backup vendor can support them, especially if you’re planning on backing up to a public cloud. Remember that you are responsible for protecting your data, so you need to ensure that any cloud data backup vendor you hire is both able and willing to work to the highest of standards.

You also need to ensure that the service contract between you is actually enforceable in practice rather than just in theory. Because of this, it’s generally advisable to give preference to cloud data backup vendors located in West Sacramento (or at least in the local area) as opposed to cloud data back vendors offering services in West Sacramento but actually based elsewhere.

Check the exact details of the pricing model

There are actually quite a few options for pricing cloud data backup services. For example, your billing could be based on storage used, bandwidth, the number of users, the number of devices backed up, and/or the number of times the data is accessed.

You might also find that SLAs change with different pricing plans. Be very wary of cutting corners here, remember the old saying that “time is money”. Paying human employees to sit idle and bored could easily work out more expensive than just paying for a higher level of service in the first place.

Think about ease of use and support

First of all, you need to be clear about who is going to be using this service. Are you going to allow end-users to “self-serve” or are you going to channel all requests through an IT helpdesk or are you going to implement some level of self-service access but have anything more significant go through an IT helpdesk?

This is a really important consideration as it could have major implications for your preferred choice of the user interface. Even though most people today consume technology quite happily, they are not necessarily so comfortable with using it more actively. This suggests that you should give strong preference to simple user interfaces.

If, however, you’re going to channel requests through an IT helpdesk, then you can safely assume a higher level of technical competence and hence potentially accept more complex user interfaces (although even here there are limits).

You’ll also want to look into the support options provided by a potential cloud data backup vendor because, in the real world, there are inevitably going to be issued from time to time. You will want to know what options are available for getting hold of your cloud data backup vendor, even in the 21st century, it’s preferable if they have a phone number, and what you can expect to happen from the point of first contact to the point of resolution. Make sure you are clear about any variations to the standard service, for example, out-of-hours support.

See if a potential cloud data backup vendor can offer any “value-add” services

While this is not essential, it can be very helpful to work with a cloud data backup vendor who has a process for identifying dormant data so that you can delete it or move it to an archive. This can really help to lower your storage and hence, often, your bill.

If you’d like to speak to a reputable and experienced cloud data backup vendor in West Sacramento, please click here now to contact Aperio.IT.

Cloud Data Backup Sacramento