The Pros And Cons Of Local Versus Online Data Backup

There really is no question that backing up your data is a must. Just about any computer security article or talk you hear will emphasize that the number one way to protect yourself from computer related disasters is to backup your data often. A daily backup is not out of the question if you use your computer every day. Sadly, most of us have a severe case of procrastination and we put off making a plan for regular backups. Or if we do have the flash drives or some other local media for backing up our data, we don't do it for weeks on end. And that natural human trait to put things off can lead to disaster when a crisis involving your computer actually comes along.

Part of the reason for the procrastination is the process of making decisions about how you will backup your data. The two major options are to back your data up locally or to use an online service to backup your important information. The local option is one most of us start with simply because it is the easiest one. And since the only expense is the purchase of some form of backup device and media, you don't incur a monthly fee. Lower expense and the ease of putting a backup program into place are probably the two perceived benefits of a local backup solution.

We say "perceived" benefits because those benefits may not be as accurate as we think they are. The expense issue may not stay inexpensive when you have to buy more disks or flash drives as the quantity of your data increases. The ease of use rational also is suspect because you are the one who has to remember to do your backups each day or each week. If you forget and the backup gets put off, data created since the last one could be lost. And that defeats the entire purpose of a backup system.

A significant negative against using local backups is that they are not secure enough. Even though off loading your data to a flash or secondary hard drive is better than no backup, the media that holds your important backup data is in the same physical location as your computer. So if disaster hits your home or office and destroys it such as a fire, tornado or flood would do, you lose the backup work as well as your computer.

The second option of backing up to an offsite location using online backup services eliminates that problem. There may be a regular cost to the service but often that is bundled with other internet security packages so the cost is not that much more than what you are paying for those important utilities.

There are two distinct advantages to online backup. One is that you can schedule the backups you need done using the software that comes with the service. Usually you can have the backup done every night while you sleep. Your data is secured to a far away location and you dont have to remember it.

But the second advantage is the most important because online backups are secure and reliable. The data you upload to an online site is stored on the host's large mainframe computers. Those computers are also backed up to the large scale corporate backup systems that the company has which means your data is absolutely safe. These are compelling reasons to give online data backup a serious consideration as your way of keeping your vital personal or business data safe in the event of a disaster.

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