What are the Benefits of Cloud Backups vs Standard Backups?

The Difference between Regular Backups and Cloud Backups

‘Standard’ backup storage is usually a secondary hard drive or external hard drive which makes a copy of whatever is on your computer system. The backup is used if a computer is broken, corrupted, stolen, or out of service. Unfortunately, standard backup storage is often one copy of the data in the same building as the primary network. This makes the data backup susceptible to both natural and man-made issues such as fire, flood, electrical shortfall etc. Additionally, many standard backup systems require each user to remember to backup their system at regular intervals.

Disaster Recovery & Canadian Cloud Backup

Last week, Canadian Cloud Backup had the unique experience of being able to test and prove that our Disaster Recovery Plan works. On Friday, August 1, 2014, we had temporarily suspended our Data Center service to perform an upgrade to our VMWare. The scheduled downtime was 6 hours, at which point full service would resume. Prior to the temporary suspension of our service we had initiated contact with every client to inform them of the downtime, the expected duration, and to reassure that this would have no effect on their data which is already stored.

Adapt to Change. Make your Business a Survivor

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

Although evolution will confirm this statement, this doesn’t apply solely to the success and survival of mankind. Your business is a living, breathing organism that operates under similar circumstances. And when it comes to the success of your business, why not embrace the things that will improve your business and make it into a success story that lasts for generations?

How safe is safe? AES 256 encryption and your data.

AES-256

AES-256 is a key generation method used to securely encrypt your data and prevent unwanted access to your files. But the real question is how safe is AES 256bit encryption really?

When referring to AES-256bit encryption, we are actually referring to the key that is generated when encrypting your data. The data itself is secured by the software by creating a ‘key’ that uses 256bit encryption to unlock that data; by finding the key, one would be able to unlock the chest. The math behind AES-256 is fairly straight forward, but very important to understand as it relates to the real world.

HDD, SDD and the Cloud

While Solid State Drives (SSD) provide a significant improvement over traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDD), there will always be a risk associated with physical data backup. SSD’s operate at faster speeds, wear down slower, and are smaller/lighter/more sleek than a HDD. This being said, their increased durability and design opens up SSD’s to a plethora of issues associated with data loss.

Mac, Your Business, and the Cloud

The Choice of Computer Should not Affect your Cloud Backup!

Historically, Windows has dominated the bulk of a Company’s workstations. Macs gained support in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with Advertising Agencies and Creative shops, who found Mac to be more suited to their business model. Mac’s acceptance continues to increase. While this may sound like a group of isolated individuals or businesses, this is far from the truth. Today’s Businesses recognise the importance of their staff being satisfied with their computer, because it simply increases productivity. Therefore, there is a growing industry trend to allow staff to ‘Choose Your Own computer’.