You may have heard the words cloud storage, or cloud backup, and just assumed they were synonymous. You’re not the first person to think this, nor will you be the last. Both are very similar in the way that they are cloud-based, but they are actually two separate entities and have their own benefits to using. 

When running a business, it is important that you understand the differences between them, as one may serve the purpose of your business, a lot more than the other. By understanding the difference, you’ll be able to make an educated decision in which one to opt for when deciding the security of your business. 

What Is Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage is a term often used by many companies as most of the public use it in one way or another. Cloud storage is essentially a storage device that is accessed over the internet and stored away from your physical device. By using cloud storage you will be able to store more than your device as an allowance for as it is stored in the cloud by a third party company. Companies like Nvida (NVDA) make cloud storage devices and are one of the drivers behind a strong stock price in 2021.

An example of cloud storage would be your mobile device. Your phone may have 125gb or storage which once used you cannot store anymore data on it. Instead what a lot of people will do is use cloud storage. 

They will pay Apple, Android or Google to store their photos in the cloud instead of their mobile device. This means that it is no longer stored on their mobile freeing up space. To access photos stored in the cloud you will need the internet whereas photos stored on your local device on not on the cloud can be accessed at any time. 

What Is Cloud Backup?

Cloud backup is a way to back up your cloud data securely using a private network. When using a cloud backup solution, you will be sending a copy of your data to an offsite server that is only accessed by you. If for any reason your original date gets corrupted or lost in some way, you can access the cloud backup and restore your data. 

As your business grows, more people will rely on your services. Unfortunately, some data can become corrupt, a disaster could happen or a cyber criminal could attack your data. If this is to happen, you know that the data of your company has been backed up daily by a managed service that is stored in an offsite location. 

You can easily access this data and restore it, having your business up and running fairly quickly. If even your computers or laptops have been damaged, you can buy a new one and restore the data to that computer. A lot of companies will use cloud backup as part of their disaster recovery plan. After all, the quicker you are up and running again, the least amount of money you will have lost.