Backing up your business data both locally and in the cloud is a strategy that many Canadian small and mid-sized businesses find valuable. Local backups mean storing copies of your data on physical devices like external hard drives or on-premises servers. Cloud backups, on the other hand, involve sending your data to secure data centres over the internet. Using both methods together—often called a hybrid backup approach—can provide stronger protection against data loss and downtime.
Why this matters for Canadian SMBs
Data loss can happen in many ways: hardware failures, accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or even natural disasters like floods or fires. If your business relies on a single backup method, you risk losing access to your data if that method fails. For example, a local backup device could be damaged in a fire, while cloud backups might be temporarily inaccessible if your internet connection is down. Combining both local and cloud backups reduces these risks and helps keep your business running smoothly.
Downtime caused by data loss can disrupt your operations, reduce staff productivity, and harm customer trust. For Canadian businesses, especially those handling sensitive customer information, maintaining reliable backups also supports compliance with privacy expectations and industry standards.
A practical example
Consider a Toronto-based marketing firm with about 50 employees. They keep daily backups on a local network-attached storage (NAS) device and also back up critical files to a Canadian cloud provider overnight. One day, a ransomware attack encrypts their local files, including the NAS backups. Because they have cloud backups isolated from the local network, they can restore their data from the cloud without paying a ransom or losing significant work. Their IT partner helped set up automated cloud backups and tested the restore process regularly to ensure reliability.
Checklist: What to do next
- Ask your IT provider: Do you support both local and cloud backups? How often are backups performed and tested?
- Review backup locations: Are local backups stored securely and offsite if possible? Is the cloud provider Canadian-based or compliant with Canadian data residency requirements?
- Check backup scope: Are all critical systems and files included? Are backups versioned to recover from ransomware or accidental deletion?
- Test restores: When was the last time backups were tested by restoring files? Regular testing ensures you can recover when needed.
- Evaluate security: Are backups encrypted both at rest and in transit? Are access controls and passwords strong to prevent unauthorized access?
Common pitfalls to avoid
Relying solely on local backups without offsite copies risks losing everything in a physical disaster. Conversely, cloud backups alone may not be accessible quickly if your internet is down or slow. Also, some businesses back up data but never verify that the backups work, which can lead to unpleasant surprises during a recovery attempt.
In summary, combining local and cloud backups offers a balanced approach that improves your business resilience. It reduces downtime risks and supports compliance with data protection expectations common in Canada.
To ensure your backup strategy fits your unique needs, consider discussing it with a trusted managed IT provider or IT advisor. They can help assess your current setup, recommend improvements, and implement a backup plan that aligns with your business priorities.