Data is an integral part of any organization and is extremely important for enterprises as no one wants to risk losing their mission-critical files. This is why data backup and data archive has come into existence. However, it is also important to note that the two are not the same. Let us see how.

Data Archive Vs Data Backup: Data Backup

First let us talk about data backup. Data backup, is a copy of your data that is made to protect you against any kind of data loss. Typically, data backups are made on a regular basis according to a time schedule or whenever the original data changes.

Any sort of data and systems can be backed up. Whether it is whole computers, Virtual Machines (VMs), mobile devices, applications, client data, server data and etc.

The main purpose or goal of data backup is to make a copy of anything that is currently in use or was in use in the past to avoid any and all kinds of data loss. Whether it may be a ransomware attack, human error or any other form of data loss.

In the case of a ransomware attack, a solid backup strategy is needed as without one, the organization may end up paying ransom for their data. It is important to get a good backup and disaster recovery solution from a reliable vendor, like StoneFly, in order to avoid any data loss and paying a hefty amount of data and of course suffering downtime.

Data Archive Vs Data Backup: Data Archive

Data archive is a copy of data that is made for long-term storage and reference purposes. It is NOT as same as backup. The original data or file may or may not be deleted from the source system after the archive copy has been made. It is up to the user to decide this, though it is common that the archive copy is the only copy as it saves space and this is one of the reasons why data archive is used.

Data archive can provide an organization with a permanent record of important data which they need to keep but not accesses that frequently.

Archival storage is less expensive as well, as mentioned earlier, one of the goals is to also save money on data storage.

Archival data is used for compliance purposes as well. In order to comply to many regulatory compliances, organizations need to store some of their data indefinitely in order to me industry compliant.

Unlike data backup, archive data cannot be deleted or altered. It is only there for the sole purpose of it existing so that it can be accessed whenever required.

Conclusion

If it was not already clear enough, we hope this article might have made it clear. Data backup and data archive is not the same and should not be considered as the same. Data backup is used purely to avoid any data loss. Don’t use backups as archives. If long-term storage is what you need, then go data archive instead.