Backup as a Service (BaaS) Defined & Explained + Use Cases

‍What is Backup as a Service (BaaS)?

Backup as a Service (BaaS) is a managed cloud storage solution that keeps your data secure and accessible for your company. It’s a more cost-effective and labor-saving option than managing your own servers in-house. HYCU offers flexibility and expert knowledge to serve your data storage needs. 

With Backup as a Service, you have the keys to simplify and unify your data protection strategy. Unlock the full potential of your hybrid cloud infrastructure with a secure, scalable, cloud-native backup and recovery solution. Discover a simple, unified approach to hybrid cloud data protection.

How does the backup process work?

HYCU offers an onboarding process for new customers that will walk you through the process of backing up your data to the cloud. It’s a simple, step-by-step process for connecting and uploading your data to cloud storage.

During the onboarding process, you’ll choose a backup policy for your organization. Backup policies are the instructions for how (and how often) your data will be backed up to the cloud.

You'll also decide where your data is hosted. Confidential data will be privately hosted, and the rest will be publicly hosted for easy accessibility by your team.

Your onboarding process is designed to be as smooth and seamless as possible. Then you can focus on doing what your company does best.

What are the main types of cloud backups?

Enterprise cloud backup solutions offer three main options for backing up your data:

1. Public cloud backup
   
   
2. Private cloud backup
   
   
3. Hybrid backup
   
   

Public cloud backup covers commercially available backup options that are publicly accessible from anywhere in the world. These include solutions such as Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. With these backups, accessibility is increased, but it offers less data security.

Private cloud backup is a BaaS solution that limits access to those on your network. It is only accessible by your company, and the servers are only used for your backups. This improves security at the cost of accessibility. 

Hybrid cloud backup is the combination of the first two options. With a hybrid solution, information that is not sensitive can be hosted on a public server so your employees have easy access to needed documents. At the same time, your confidential documents and data are hosted privately to maximize security.

What are the key use cases and service offerings of BaaS?

HYCU has developed innovations such as R-Cloud, the world’s first data protection development platform. R-Cloud is designed for SaaS companies to offer backup and recovery services to their users.

No matter your use case, HYCU can help implement it for your business:

• Ransomware protection: Ransomware attacks are becoming ubiquitous. In February 2023, there were 240 attacks, an increase of 45% from the record high the previous month. In the event of a ransomware attack, your data is safe and the backup can quickly restore your data. You won’t have to worry about making a ransomware payment because your company will be back up and running.
• Backup and recovery: Your data will be safely stored in the cloud, limiting the need for in-house data bandwidth. Whether a hard drive dies or an employee accidentally deletes critical files, you’ll be able to get your data back in no time.
• Disaster recovery: No matter what happens on the ground, your data will be securely stored in the cloud. In the event of a disaster, your system will seamlessly fail over to your cloud infrastructure. When catastrophe strikes, you can focus on your people and leave the data to your provider's disaster recovery services.
• Data migration and mobility: When you switch to a new system, your data will effortlessly follow. Restore your backups anywhere, anytime. When one of your computers is replaced, your data will only be a click away.
• Security and compliance: Store your data with peace of mind knowing that you’re in compliance with regulations. Security and privacy are key aspects of your BaaS plan. Your data will be safely stored in a cloud data center, and only those specifically approved will have access to your data.
• SaaS protection: SaaS providers can protect their customers' data and reduce downtime by partnering with a BaaS provider. Their on-demand services can then maintain business continuity even if their own servers are down.

What are the benefits of Backup as a Service?

Having the right Backup as a Service provider makes all the difference in the world. Here are some of the benefits that result from partnering with HYCU on your backup and recovery needs:

• Time-efficient: BaaS solutions save your company time. Your employees can focus on their work instead of their data. Managing an in-house backup solution is time-intensive and distracts your company from serving its customers. Your provider will seamlessly manage and back up your data without taking up your valuable time.
• Cost savings: BaaS solutions are the most cost-effective means of keeping your data safe. Building your own solution would require capital expenditure and hiring specialized employees. Instead, set up your BaaS solution, and you’ll only have to handle a simple monthly or annual payment.
• Customizable and scalable: Backup as a Service can scale up or down effortlessly to match your company’s data storage requirements. All it takes to change your plan is a phone call. Your BaaS solution can grow along with your business.
• Personalized support: When problems arise, you’ll have assistance available on request. Your provider’s customer service agents are only an email away. They will help you deal with any issues that arise in your data storage. 
• Data security and protection: In 2022, 422 million people were affected by data compromises. The encryption and security protocols of your BaaS provider can protect your data. It will be inaccessible to anyone who isn’t approved for access. Depending on the level of security you require, your data can also be encrypted and hosted privately.
• All-in-one solution: Backup as a Service can take care of all your data storage and recovery needs. It eliminates data silos and the need to manage your cloud storage in-house. The simplicity of BaaS saves you from the headache of managing numerous data backups with multiple providers and ensuring they all serve your needs.
• Quick restoration: Restore your backups quickly and easily as needed, because you don’t want your business operations interrupted by missing data. No matter what happens, your data will be there when you need to use it. Migrate to new networks and infrastructure without the headache of manually migrating your data.

What is hybrid cloud backup?

Hybrid cloud backup is an optimized form of managed cloud storage. It offers a combination of public and private cloud infrastructure. It enables non-sensitive data to be backed up to a public server for easy accessibility while, at the same time, confidential files are stored using a private cloud server to maximize security.

You’ll be able to choose which data is stored publicly and which requires the extra security of a private cloud server. Having both options enables your backups to function efficiently and allows for quick retrieval of your commonly used documents.

How do BaaS providers back up on-premises applications and data to the cloud?

Backing up your on-premises applications and data takes some time initially, but this can be managed seamlessly. HYCU will connect your on-premises applications and data to the appropriate cloud storage servers. The data is then uploaded to the cloud and stored on secure servers. 

Once you’ve signed up, you decide your "backup policy," which is the frequency and type of backup that will be performed for your data. You can choose a predefined policy of 6, 12, or 24 hours or create your own customized backup policy that suits your company. During the backup process, your data will be seamlessly and automatically uploaded to the cloud.

How often should a data backup be performed? 

Determining the amount of time for your company depends on your Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RPO is the maximum amount of time your company can tolerate data loss. If your RPO is set to 24 hours, then you will lose no more than 24 hours of data in the case of a disaster.

Data backup can be performed at any interval you specify in your backup strategy. The backup will happen automatically every time the specified amount of time has passed since the last backup. Your interval between backups should be short in order to limit potential data loss. The longer you go without backing up your data, the more data you stand to lose if something goes wrong with your on-premises hardware.

What is the difference between a full backup and a differential backup?

A full backup and a differential backup have one major difference:

• A full backup backs up all of the files on your system, regardless of what backups you already have in place. It’s more thorough but time-consuming than a differential backup.
  
  
• A differential backup only backs up the files and folders that have changed since your last full backup. This shortens the amount of time spent backing up data, as well as the amount of time it takes to restore your data.
  
  

How does a backup solution prevent enterprise data loss?

HYCU's robust Backup as a Service solution will prevent almost all enterprise data loss. Your data will be securely stored in the cloud. No matter what happens to the on-premises hardware and software you’re using, your cloud backup will offer a restore point to recover any data you lose.

When disaster strikes, your data can be recovered immediately. With minimal effort, you can restore your backup to your servers. You won’t lose any data because it is stored safely in the cloud and not dependent on your local hard drive storage.

How does a BaaS solution protect against ransomware attacks?

With ransomware attacks, a criminal organization tries to extort your company using malware. They can lock up all your data and refuse to give you the encryption key until payment is made. That’s the “ransom” they are seeking. Even if you give in to their demands and pay the ransom, you may not get your data back. 

They don’t hold all the cards if you invest in a robust BaaS solution. With BaaS, your data can be restored quickly, and critical infrastructure will be returned to your network. You won’t even need to consider paying the ransom. Your company will be back up and running without ever paying a dime to the attackers.

How does a backup service provider help with disaster recovery?

In the event of a disaster, your data will be reliably recovered from the cloud. Your on-premise systems will quickly failover to your cloud backup storage.

"Failover" protects your business from an interruption in the event of data loss due to a disaster. Failover means that when your on-site systems fail, HYCU's off-site backup system will seamlessly take over to fill in the gaps.

What is the typical pricing model for backup services?

The pricing for backup services depends on a number of factors. 

• Which cloud services are you using for backup?
  
  
• How much data do you need to store?
  
  
• Which backup frequency do you want?
  
  
• What extra features and customized plans do you require?
  
  

You can find more information on pricing by requesting a quote from HYCU.

HYCU: Your Backup as a Service provider

Discover how HYCU’s Backup as a Service helps solve common cloud backup and recovery headaches while delivering immediate value to your organization, including:

• Unified backup and recovery: Backup, migrate, and failover your cloud and on-premises workloads from a single user interface anyone can use. ‍
  
  
• Resiliency on autopilot: Take advantage of automated application discovery to ensure everything in your agile IT environment is protected in the moment. ‍
  
  
• Ransomware ready: Protect your entire IT environment with air-gapped and immutable backups to cost-efficient cloud storage and take recovery time down from days to minutes. ‍
  
  
• Built for the cloud: Say goodbye to frustrating sizing exercises with a solution that dynamically scales alongside your evolving environments. ‍
  
  

Work smarter, not harder: Take advantage of native snapshot and security protocols to accelerate backup and recovery efforts.