On-site Backup vs. Cloud Backup [Video]

When it comes time to choose where to store and how to manage your backups, there are a few things to consider. You’ll need to think about your recovery time objectives, regulatory and security requirements, available IT resources, and overall budget. It’s also important to evaluate how quickly you need to restore data, how much control you want over your infrastructure, and whether a local, cloud, or hybrid approach best fits your day-to-day operations.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these options.

On-site servers are managed and supported by your own IT team, giving you direct control over your infrastructure, backup schedules, retention policies, and security measures. This level of control often translates into faster local restores and the ability to fine-tune performance to match your environment. However, it also means investing in hardware, maintenance, physical security, and the internal expertise required to monitor and manage those systems over time.

With cloud backup servers, you’ll typically see lower up-front costs, predictable monthly expenses, and a reduced support burden on your internal team. Cloud backups are accessible from anywhere, can scale quickly as your data grows, and often include built-in redundancy across multiple data centers. But relying solely on cloud storage can introduce challenges, such as dependence on your Internet connection for both backup and restore speeds, potential bandwidth limitations, and security or compliance restrictions that may apply to certain types of sensitive data.

For many organizations, the ideal solution is a hybrid backup approach that combines the speed and control of local backups with the resilience and off-site protection of cloud storage. This lets you keep recent backups on-site for rapid recovery while maintaining encrypted copies in the cloud for disaster scenarios.

To design a backup strategy that aligns with your RTOs, compliance requirements, and budget, team up with NovaBACKUP today. Our experts can help you build a tailored local, cloud, or hybrid backup plan that keeps your data protected and recoverable when you need it most.