Should your company use an archive or backup? Both systems both occupy similar roles. They ensure data security for your company, giving you a layer of protection guaranteeing continued access to historical information. But where do the differences come in, and which is right for your business?
Backup systems are an older standard
Backup systems have been in use almost as long as computers themselves; while older physical mediums like tapes have gradually been replaced by fully digital options, the function remains broadly the same.
With a backup system, the live network is regularly captured and a copy is stored. In the case of any issue – ranging from data corruption, cyberattacks, ransomware locked disks or so on – the network can be rolled back and restored to a previous iteration. Any changes from the most recent backup copy are lost.
While this provides an excellent solution for maintaining safety, backups have issues. First and foremost, as already touched on the backup will only restore up to the last version saved. If there have been any major changes made since that point, they are not restored – potentially leading to data loss. Besides this, however, backups are an “all or nothing” solution. The inability to selectively capture and restore individual files or emails makes backups unable to flexibly respond in any way besides a full restore.
Archives are the answer to modern requirements
Archive software represents a more flexible tool than backup systems. While the core of the system remains the same – a capture of the live data and retention in separate storage – archives are more accessible, with the storage being indexed to allow for individual files or even individual versions of files to be independently pulled up.
As a consequence, archives have gradually become more prevalent as they can fill different roles, including long term retention for legal reasons, while still serving as a potential avenue for recovery in the case of disaster recovery plans. The majority of archives will allow for data retrieval in the case of recovery plans being activated.
At the same time, by virtue of their indexing and more organized structure archives make full restoration unnecessary, as it is possible to search for and access information directly in the archive environment rather than rehydrating it back into the live system. This is both faster and more efficient, boosting employee productivity by eliminating unnecessary steps in their workflows without compromising on data safety.
Our contentACCESS represents the best option for your archiving needs
In considering if an archive or backup is the right choice, and which individual solution would best meet your company requirements, look no further than contentACCESS. Our solution provides coverage of your most critical business information – including SharePoint, Emails, Microsoft Teams chats, and other files. All of these are kept secure within a single unified archiving system, while remaining completely accessible for your employees through a variety of means including our Web Access portal, Outlook integration options and mobile app.
In addition to the added efficiency and accessibility provided by contentACCESS, our archive can also guarantee all the retention options and policies required to ensure your company remains not only safe and secure, but also in compliance with the continuously expanding legal frameworks regulating data retention. contentACCESS keeps your stored information versioned and discoverable, based on policies and guidelines you can set and adjust to best meet both your legal requirements and personal needs.
If our offer interests you, and your company is ready to guarantee their critical information’s safety going forward, contact us. Our team of specialists will gladly schedule a cost-free consultation with you where we can go over how you can best leverage our decades of experience for your business’ benefit.
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