As we regularly discuss on our blog, it’s important to take proactive, preventative action against the threat of ransomware, outages, and hacks. But there’s another piece that’s equally (if not more) important: the restorative aspect of disaster recovery, and protection against data loss. This is where Backup as a Service, or BaaS comes in.
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“Backup as a service is a company’s final line of defense against data loss,” says John Unger, Vaultas President. “If an outage or cyber incident happens, having a repository of backed up, secure data will help companies get back to business quicker and minimize data loss.” |
As with all technologies in recent years, BaaS solutions have evolved significantly. With the advent of cloud computing, ever-changing threat landscapes, and consumer demands for highly available systems, BaaS processes have shifted in response to these evolutions.
However, the ultimate objective of BaaS hasn’t changed. Having robust, efficient, and secure backups is just as important now, if not more, than ever before. In this article we’ll explain the definition of Backup as a Service, why it’s important, and explore the benefits of BaaS and even some best practices.
What is BaaS?
BaaS is where businesses purchase online backup, storage, and even recovery services from a provider. It relieves businesses of the need to handle data backups on their own, whether it’s an on-premise infrastructure or in the cloud. BaaS simplifies data management, enhances security, and reduces costs by outsourcing the backup process to an external provider.
As John Unger explains, “BaaS is focused specifically on the retention of data in the event of an outage or breach. BaaS protects data from loss, which leads to a more complete recovery and minimizes impacts to businesses and their customers.”
In an era where 60% of corporate data is now being stored in the cloud, and 46% of businesses experienced a data breach in their cloud in 2023, data backup is absolutely essential. Moreover, it’s a requirement of many security and information standards, such as ISO 27001, SOC2, and others.
So, what do businesses get when they sign up with a BaaS provider? While every provider is different, and may offer BaaS in different ways, businesses should expect the following services from their BaaS provider:
- Automated data backup: Regularly scheduled and automatic backups of data to ensure safety without manual intervention.
- Cloud storage management: Managing and optimizing the storage of data in the cloud.
- Data recovery: Quick restoration of data in case of data loss or corruption.
- Security measures: Implementing security protocols to protect data during transfer and storage.
- Compliance assurance: Ensuring that data handling meets regulatory compliance requirements.
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Pro-Tip: We highly recommend the use of BaaS providers that follow the 3-2-1 model of data backup. To be fully resilient and protected BaaS strategy should follow the 3-2-1 rule of data protection that include:
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Why is BaaS Important?
First and foremost, remember that Backup as a Service protects data. Businesses are increasingly relying on digital data to operate. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that the cost of losing data is severe, and many companies don’t recover from events that cause data loss. Almost 70% percent of businesses close within one year of a significant data loss event.
Other statistics are equally as alarming. A recent Verizon report found that:
- Small data loss events, involving about 100 lost/compromised data files, cost an average $18,120 to $35,730.
- Large-scale data loss events cost businesses between $5 million to nearly $16 million.
Top 5 Causes of Data Loss
- 1. Human error: Humans are not perfect, and human error is responsible for 82% of data breaches. Mistakes made by employees, such as accidental deletion or modification of data, misconfiguration of IT systems, and improper handling of sensitive information, are significant contributors to data loss.
- 2. Hardware failures: Servers don’t last forever, and can malfunction. This includes the breakdown of physical devices like hard drives, SSDs, and other storage media, often due to wear and tear, physical damage, or manufacturing faults. Hard drive failures, for instance, remain a constant risk and are one of the most common hardware-related causes of data loss.
- 3. Software corruption: Problems with software, such as bugs or failures during updates, can corrupt data. This can also include the corruption of operating systems and the failure of file systems.
- 4. Ransomware and other malware: Malicious software can block access to data, encrypt files, or completely wipe out data. Ransomware attacks are increasing – attacks against medium and small businesses especially – and can cause significant data loss for companies not prepared with secure backups.
- 5. Natural disasters: Events such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters can physically damage storage media and infrastructure, leading to the loss of data.
Backup as a Service Benefits
Let’s explore just a few of the ways BaaS can help keep your data secure.
| BaaS Benefit | How it Benefits Businesses |
| Cost-Effectiveness | Reduces need for upfront investment in hardware and software, operating on a scalable, flexible subscription model. |
| Simplified Management | Outsourcing backup management frees up IT staff for other tasks, with the BaaS provider handling all tasks and aspects of data backup. |
| Improved Data Security |
The right BaaS provider will ensure advanced security features like encryption during transmission and at rest. |
| Automated Backup | Regular, automated backup processes are configured and monitored, reducing the risk of data loss due to human error. |
| Scalability | Allows easy adjustment of storage capacity to meet growing business needs without physical upgrades. |
| Disaster Recovery | Facilitates quick data recovery in emergencies to minimize downtime and ensure business continuity. |
| Regulatory Compliance | Helps businesses meet compliance requirements – such as HIPAA and GDPR – efficiently as many BaaS providers adhere to relevant regulations. |
Data Security Best Practices: Align BaaS and DRaaS for Maximum Benefit
According to Beta News, the best strategy is to enlist and align your data backup services with your disaster recovery services.
Backup and recovery as a service blends both DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) and BaaS, with DRaaS focuses on minimizing downtime and recovering all IT infrastructure as quickly as possible, while BaaS focuses on retaining data and minimizing data loss.
Utilizing both services allows companies to tailor their recovery plan to the unique needs of their industry, dataset and IT infrastructure. Not only will this optimize disaster recovery, but can also lead to significant cost savings.
Avoid Data Loss Risks with Vaultas
Do you need help creating a DRaaS or BaaS plan? Or has your infrastructure changed and you need a solution that better suits your current infrastructure and data security needs? Contact Vaultas today!
Vaultas is a technology ecosystem provider at the forefront of business technology solutions. We have decades of experience in protecting client data and mission critical business systems. We provide dozens of companies with fully managed, exceptional data backup as a service solutions – including cloud backup as a service – and we can help you too.
Contact us to get started.
