Disaster recovery and backup are both core parts of modern business operations. Both are now available on an as-a-service basis (DRaaS and BaaS). This means that DRaaS vs BaaS is often a key decision for businesses. With that in mind, here is a straightforward guide to what you need to know about both options.
DRaaS stands for Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service. It is a cloud-based service that stores and replicates critical systems and data to ensure accessibility in the event of a disaster. Here are 7 of its key characteristics.
DRaaS automates failover processes to quickly switch from primary to backup systems during a disaster. This reduces downtime, minimizes manual intervention, and ensures faster recovery to maintain business continuity.
Includes full, incremental, and differential backups to meet diverse recovery point objectives (RPOs). This ensures data integrity by providing flexible recovery options tailored to specific needs.
DRaaS providers often use multiple geographically dispersed data centers. This protects against region-specific disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, ensuring uninterrupted services. As a bonus, the fact that DRaaS is location-independent means that it can be managed by personnel working from anywhere with an internet connection.
DRaaS can scale to meet growing business requirements or fluctuating demands. This adapts to organizational needs without requiring significant upfront investments.
Regular disaster recovery testing and continuous monitoring are integral to DRaaS. This ensures readiness, identifies vulnerabilities, and guarantees that recovery plans will work as intended.
DRaaS ensures adherence to industry standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001, with robust encryption and access controls. This protects sensitive data and helps businesses meet regulatory requirements.
DRaaS typically has low to no upfront costs and flexible ongoing pricing. This enables businesses to avoid breaking into their capital (or taking on debt) and to match their ongoing costs to their usage.
BaaS stands for Backup-as-a-Service. It involves securely storing data in the cloud instead of on physical devices. Here are 7 of its key characteristics.
Automates the scheduling and execution of backups at regular intervals. BaaS typically offers full, differential, and incremental backups.
Automation reduces the risk of human error, ensures consistent data protection, and saves time for IT teams. Having the choice of different types of backup enables organizations to optimze their use of storage and bandwidth and helps conserve bandwidth.
Ensures that data is encrypted during transit and at rest to prevent unauthorized access. This protects sensitive information, helps comply with data protection regulations, and reduces the risk of data breaches.
Enables businesses to define retention periods and maintain multiple versions of files. This facilitates recovery from accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or earlier versions of corrupted files.
Provides a single dashboard for monitoring and managing backups across devices and locations. This simplifies administration, enhances visibility, and ensures all data sources are backed up.
The long-established 3-2-1 rule of backups requires businesses to ensure that one of their backups is kept offsite. (These days, that can mean in a different cloud). Using BaaS enables businesses to meet that requirement while still having convenient access to their data from anywhere in the world.
BaaS can integrate with Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) for comprehensive resilience. This combines data protection with rapid recovery, ensuring minimal downtime during disruptions.
Implementing BaaS can be done with minimal to no capital expenditure. Moreover, BaaS providers typically offer a range of pricing tariffs from committed contracts to on-demand (pay-as-you-go) pricing.
The absence of up-front costs means that businesses can implement BaaS without major disruption to their budgets. The range of pricing models helps businesses to find an option that suits them regardless of their circumstances (and how these circumstances change).
Here are the five key differences between DRaaS and BaaS.
DRaaS focuses on maintaining business continuity by enabling rapid recovery of entire IT systems, applications, and infrastructure during disasters. BaaS focuses on backing up data to ensure its safekeeping and recovery in case of loss or corruption.
DRaaS covers system failover, application restoration, and complete disaster recovery plans. BaaS is limited to data backup and recovery without system or application restoration.
DRaaS is designed for minimal RTO, ensuring systems and services are operational quickly. With BaaS, recovery time depends on the volume of data and does not prioritize immediate system recovery.
DRaaS is typically more expensive due to the inclusion of failover infrastructure and full recovery services. BaaS is more affordable as it focuses solely on data storage and recovery.
DRaaS involves comprehensive disaster recovery strategies and testing. BaaS is simpler, with a primary focus on data backup automation.
Discover 7 common mistakes to avoid when choosing a DRaaS provider. Learn 7 tips for making the right choice. Find out how to avoid pitfalls, make informed decisions, and ensure seamless disaster recovery in this straightforward guide. Gain the knowledge you need to choose the right DRaaS provider for you.
Explore the challenges posed by traditional disaster recovery systems and discover how DRaaS solves these challenges to offer a more scalable, cost-effective solution. Discover actionable insights on overcoming common implementation hurdles to ensure a smooth transition to DRaaS.
A simple guide of what cloud disaster recovery is, why it has become popular, and how to effectively create a disaster recovery plan for your business.
Discover the DataBank Difference today:
Hybrid infrastructure solutions with boundless edge reach and a human touch.
