Backup as a Service: The foundation of modern protection against natural disasters and cyber threat actors.

The value of having a disaster recovery plan is indisputable yet only 20% of UK businesses and charities have a robust disaster recovery plan and test their plan annually.  

From our blog post on Insider Media

This is a frightening statistic when the world is facing increased frequency and severity of natural disasters due to climate change and coupled with the exponential rise of cyberattacks paralysing significant numbers of organisations globally. 

The recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) dramatically amplified the issues related to climate change with predictions of more flooding, increased frequency and intensity of forest fires, and more destructive storms. Evidencing this closer to home, We have recently seen the devastation of storms Arwen, Dudley and Eunice. Therefore, it is becoming more imperative for businesses to take disaster recovery planning seriously more so now than ever before.

While the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters needs to be taken seriously, the threat of a crippling cyber attack is a daily risk. This is evident in the ransomware attacks which make headlines every week as threat actors are more aggressive than ever. Robust cyber protection needs to be a multi-faceted approach for business continuity and it begins with reliable and strong backup measures.

You are at risk of a cyber attack

The figures surrounding ransomware attacks are stark. Late last year, GCHQ reported that ransomware attacks on British organisations doubled. With the emerging situation between Ukraine and Russia, NCSC called for organisations to ‘bolster their online defences’. There is no doubt that cyberthreats have immense real world ramifications. So much so, A recent Gartner study indicated that 88% of board members classified cybersecurity as a business risk. 

A cyberattack is not just an inconvenience for the IT team to remediate, it is a disaster for the organisation. Hence, an organisation’s ability to operate following a minimal downtime when a disaster hits is imperative to its long term stability, profitability and relationship with its customers. Backing up critical business data on the cloud makes this possible. 

Understanding Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) in relation to your business

Between today’s data dependency and exponential growth in online collaboration, any downtime to a business as a result of data interruptions can be immensely detrimental to its stability and productivity. The way to circumvent this issue for a business to be able to retrieve backup data accurately and reliably.

BaaS combines monitoring, reporting and managing data backup systems that consistently update and safeguard critical business data. This means that in the event of a disaster, the business can swiftly access their data and continue operations with minimal downtime. 

Choosing a cloud-based BaaS provider ensures businesses the safety net of data retrieval without the costly overheads which would traditionally make this level of protection unattainable for smaller businesses. 

Choosing the right BaaS for your business

As with any business tool, a good BaaS should be customised around the needs of the organisation and be scalable for growth. With that, businesses should also seek to answer the following questions when searching for a BaaS provider:

What do you need specifically?

Depending on the size and maturity of the business, it might be that the business requires an upgrade to the existing infrastructure to help ensure overall security and efficacy of backup. Perhaps the on-site infrastructure is sound and the business needs backup services only. Either way, a good BaaS provider can customise solutions based on the needs of the business and scale accordingly.

Is the data backup interface user-friendly and will you have access to human-centric support?

It is imperative that access to data backup is easy and swift during a crisis. Awkward and challenging configurations will unnecessarily prolong the downtime which can be problematic. 

When considering a supplier, it is also worth raising a question about user support. The team should be prepared to assist your business if things do not go to plan. 

How flexible is the scheduling and does it fit with your needs?

Different businesses have different backup schedules. A financial company may require several backups daily while a design agency may only require once a day. Your BaaS supplier should ideally be prepared to work collaboratively with you to ensure that your backups are scheduled in accordance to your needs. 

Understand the costing thoroughly and how scalable it is.

One of the prime benefits of getting a BaaS supplier is the reduced overhead costs. With no need to invest in dedicated backup equipment and data centre rental, it is also an attractive option for growing businesses as it creates an option for swift scalability if the need arises. With subscription-based pricing, good BaaS suppliers also ensure easy understanding of what the business is paying for.

BaaS with METCLOUD

METCLOUD understands the importance of flexibility, reliability and scalability in accordance with business needs. As such, they offer three simple, fully-managed options based on the most common scenarios found in business operations today. 

BaaS is only the start of comprehensive cyber resilience 

With today’s reliance on technology and sophistication of cyberthreats, it is imperative that businesses recognise the importance of a multi-faceted approach to cybersecurity. It is important for businesses today to audit their threat surface and seek to achieve protection accordingly. 

METCLOUD has won over 50 awards in recognition for their innovation and contribution to cybersecurity for various sectors including FinTech, Corporate Excellence & Storage Cloud and Digitalisation. The multi-award winning cloud platform is fully scalable for small-medium enterprises.

For more information on cyber secure computing, contact METCLOUD for an informal discussion regarding your cybersecurity concerns. Telephone 0121 227 0730 or email hello@metcloud.com