How to understand and choose Backup as a Service (BaaS)
A quick Google search reveals that the term BaaS is used across all sectors. For instance, you might find Banking as a Service or Backend as a Service.
However, the topic we aim to understand today is Backup as a Service. Some might call it "the BaaS for bearded folks who manage their own servers"
What does Backup as a Service (BaaS) mean?
Backup as a Service involves offering a backup service through a cloud model. Instead of having to provision infrastructure and storage dedicated to this purpose, backup is consumed on demand.
Typically, this service operates on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. For example, costs might be based on the number of servers backed up or the amount of storage consumed.
Three categories of backup solutions
Various backup solutions are available in the market. We can distinguish them into three categories:
- On-premise appliance installation: This could be a specific machine designed to write backups on tape, or a simple NAS when that suffices.
- Backup software installation on the client’s infrastructure, as offered by companies like Veeam.
- Cloud-based "as a Service" solutions (BaaS) that eliminate the need to install a dedicated backup component in your infrastructure. This is particularly suitable for the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
Installing a complex backup appliance is justified for large companies managing a vast private cloud with thousands of servers. However, this approach can be overkill for small businesses or those that rent just a few servers from a cloud provider for more limited needs, such as hosting business applications or even just a website.
For this more common use case, Backup as a Service solutions are particularly well-suited. They are generally set up in just a few minutes, and allow you to benefit from professional backups at a relatively low monthly cost.
How to choose your Backup as a Service?
The market is full of Backup as a Service (BaaS) offerings. However, there are several important considerations to keep in mind to make the right choice:
- Backup Methods: How does the provider execute backups? Are they performed incrementally, with compression, or through deduplication?
- Access Requirements: What specific access rights does your backup provider require? Do I need to grant specific accesses to my servers ?
- Notifications and Alerts: Will you be notified in case of errors during the backup process? How ?
- Storage and Security: Where and how will your backups be stored? Determine whether encryption is handled on the client side.
Thinking about each of these considerations will help you feel more confident as you make your decision.
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If you are looking for the ultimate backup solution, we invite you to visit datashelter.tech and challenge our team of experts who are ready to support you at every step of your project!