Cloud backup vs. on-site: what small organizations actually need

People often ask whether they should back up to the cloud or to a local device. The best answer for most small organizations is to use both, because each covers the other's weakness.

What each does well

• On-site backup is fast, great for quickly restoring a file or a failed machine
• Cloud / offsite backup survives what your building does not, fire, flood, theft, or ransomware that reaches your local network

The rule of thumb

A long-standing best practice is to keep multiple copies of your data, on more than one type of storage, with at least one copy offsite. The details matter less than the principle: never let a single event, a failed drive, a break-in, a storm, take out both your data and its only backup. We design and monitor exactly this kind of layered protection, and we test it, see backup & recovery.