Data Loss Protection: Backup vs. Replication

Do you understand the difference between data backup and data replication?

Data loss occurs in many ways. Businesses lose data when hardware breaks, software becomes corrupts, from human error, and from ransomware, virus, or malware. It is no longer a question of how you will lose data, but when. The best way to safeguard data is to backup data regularly, or is it?

Data Backup or Replication – Your Choices Have Grown

The idea of protecting information is not new, but many companies still don’t even have a data backup solution in place. In today’s world cyber crime, hacking, and ransomware make doing business without a data backup data backup plan living dangerously.

What Is Data Backup?

Data Backup is a physical copy of all your computer’s files and the applications that are stored on your PC or server. If data loss occurs, you can restore the lost data using the backup data from the last time that you backed up your system. The key phrase is “the last time you backed up your data.” You might lose any new data that is not part of the last data backup.

What is Data Replication

Data Replication is different from data backup. The process of replicating data happens almost instantly because it saves data without the laborious task of copying files. The process of replicating data involves taking a picture of your data, and from that picture, you can restore your files almost instantly. The process of mirroring your data is fast and takes just a few seconds.

The Drawback of Data Backup

The biggest drawback for data backup is that it takes the time to backup data and to restore it. Data backup works well but it takes much longer to backup data then it does to replicate it. That is because each file must be copied. Think along the same lines as running a virus scan. Each file is scanned, and that process takes time.

The advantages to using data replication are that it is much faster and data replication can occur more often.

• The advantage is that with data replication you can replicate your data every hour or every ten minutes without interrupting your workflow. You don’t have to wait until your business closes or for the weekend to replicate the data. That means your risk of losing data is much smaller.

With data backup that process can take several minutes to several hours and work would need to stop during that time. For that reason, businesses that use data backup typically backup at night or on the weekends. That means that they risk losing data between backups. That is not the case with data replication. Data is recoverable at shorter intervals because data replication can occur more often.

Can Managed IT Help with Data Security?

Absolutely. Raleigh IT Support Company and IT Services Provider | CSP Inc. helps business manage IT and IT innovations throughout the Raleigh area. Technology is a beautiful thing, but it can easily overwhelm small- and medium-sized businesses. At Raleigh IT Support Company and IT Services Provider | CSP Inc. we help businesses just like yours to compete with large corporations and to excel in competitive markets by helping them manage their IT needs.

That is one of the reasons we are talking today about the differences between data backup and data replication. Data loss to a small- or medium-sized company can close the doors for good. Both services are affordable and easy to manage. Yet many businesses do not have a data protection strategy or a system in place. For a customized look at your data security needs info@cspinc.com us or for faster service just pick up the phone: (919) 424-2000 Our professionals are always willing to answer your IT questions.