Menu
Cart

How to Combine On-Premise and Cloud Backups for Better Data Security

Introduction

In an era where data drives every decision, losing access to critical files, even for a few hours, can cause financial loss, downtime, and reputational damage. Businesses today face a dual challenge: safeguarding data from hardware failure, ransomware, or natural disasters, while maintaining accessibility and compliance.
The solution lies in a hybrid backup architecture, a combination of on-premise and cloud backups that balances speed, security, and resilience. By merging local and cloud strategies, organizations can ensure their data is redundant, recoverable, and always accessible.

Understanding On-Premise vs. Cloud Backups

On-Premise Backups (Local Storage)

On-premise backups store data within a company’s physical environment, usually on NAS devices, external drives, or dedicated backup servers.

Advantages:

  • Instant recovery: Faster restore times for critical data.

  • Full control: Businesses manage their hardware and policies directly.

  • No dependency on the internet: Backups and restores work even during connectivity issues.

Limitations:

  • Vulnerability to local disasters: Fire, theft, or floods can destroy data and hardware.

  • Maintenance overhead: Requires manual monitoring and periodic testing.

  • Scalability costs: Expanding capacity involves new hardware investments.

Cloud Backups (Remote Storage)

Cloud backups store copies of data on off-site servers managed by third-party providers or private cloud systems.

Advantages:

  • Offsite protection: Shields data from physical damage or site-level incidents.

  • Scalable and automated: Easily expands as data grows with minimal configuration.

  • Remote accessibility: Enables recovery from anywhere, ideal for hybrid or remote teams.

Limitations:

  • Slower recovery for large datasets.

  • Recurring costs: Cloud storage fees increase with usage.

  • Data sovereignty concerns: Businesses must ensure compliance with regional data laws.

For a complete understanding of how remote backups enhance resilience and ensure business continuity, visit cloud backups (remote storage) for business data security.

The Power of Combining Both: Hybrid Backup Strategy

A hybrid backup strategy integrates the strengths of on-premise and cloud systems to provide layered protection. The guiding principle is simple: “Backup locally for speed, backup to the cloud for safety.”

This model typically follows the 3-2-1 Backup Rule:

Keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different storage types, with 1 copy offsite.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Primary data resides on production servers or employee devices.

  2. A secondary copy is created locally (on a NAS or backup appliance) for fast restoration.

  3. A tertiary copy is replicated automatically to the cloud for disaster recovery.

Benefits of a Hybrid Backup Approach

1. Maximum Data Resilience

Even if your office hardware fails, your cloud backup ensures you can recover everything. Conversely, if a cloud service suffers downtime, your local copy remains accessible.

2. Faster Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)

On-premise backups allow immediate restoration for minor incidents, while cloud backups handle large-scale or site-wide recovery scenarios.

3. Enhanced Security and Encryption

Hybrid systems like Synology Active Backup or Veeam Backup allow AES-256 encryption, multi-factor authentication, and secure transfer protocols to ensure all data, local and cloud, is protected from unauthorized access.

4. Simplified Compliance and Audit Readiness

Hybrid solutions can maintain version history, retention policies, and encryption standards aligned with GDPR, HIPAA, or SOC 2 frameworks.

5. Cost-Optimized Scalability

Critical data stays on fast, local hardware while older or infrequently accessed backups move to affordable cloud tiers, optimizing cost without sacrificing safety.

How to Implement a Hybrid Backup Strategy

Step 1: Assess Your Data Landscape

Identify critical workloads, financial systems, client data, and email servers, and define their required recovery times and retention periods.

Step 2: Choose Reliable Platforms

Use a NAS solution like Synology Drive Server or Synology Active Backup for Business for local backups, paired with secure cloud services such as Synology C2, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Storage.

Step 3: Set Up Automation and Scheduling

Automate both local and off-site backups to minimize human error. Define daily or weekly syncs for cloud replication.

Step 4: Encrypt and Test Your Backups Regularly

Apply end-to-end encryption and perform periodic restore tests to ensure data integrity and process reliability.

Step 5: Document and Monitor

Use monitoring dashboards and logs to track backup success rates and audit activity.

How Epis Technology Helps Businesses Stay Secure

At Epis Technology, we specialize in building hybrid backup frameworks that unite on-premise infrastructure with secure cloud continuity. Our services include:

With our expertise, you can deploy a redundant backup strategy that ensures data safety, compliance, and business continuity across all environments.

Combining on-premise and cloud backups isn’t just a best practice; it’s a necessity for modern data protection. A hybrid strategy ensures you have speed, control, and redundancy, protecting your business from data loss, cyber threats, or disaster scenarios. With expert planning and deployment from Epis Technology, you can create a resilient backup ecosystem that delivers peace of mind, compliance assurance, and operational continuity, no matter what happens next.

Related Posts