Let’s start by suggesting that there are 2 major types of backups, local (onsite) and remote (offsite).

Local backups are great for protection from lost or deleted files and rolling back to previous versions.  If you are backing up to a device other than your primary hard drive, it can protect you from hardware failure.  Local backups tend to be fast and convenient.  restores from a local backup can also be quick.  Local backups may not protect you from theft, loss, or catastrophic incidents.

Remote backups protect your files from all 5 of the situations you may encounter, deletion, versions, loss or theft, hardware failure, and ideally from catastrophe.  They operate at the speed of your internet connection (so, much slower than a local backup routine) and tend to be more complicated to setup and in terms of restoring files. 

A blended approach, using both local and remote backups is often the most flexible solution.  It can cost more than either alone, but gives you the benefits of both.  At The Backup Plan, we recommend that all companies do remote backups, and if their demands justify it, then also retain a local backup.

Next time, we’ll discuss some additional concepts and terms.  Until then, save early and often.