Glossary Terms
What is hybrid backup?
Hybrid Backup is a data protection strategy that combines local storage with cloud-based backup. It backs up your data to an on-site device, like a server or NAS, for fast access, and then replicates it to the cloud for off-site protection. This approach gives you the speed of local recovery and the security of remote redundancy, helping you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket.
How is hybrid backup different from traditional or cloud-only backup?
To understand why hybrid backup works so well, it’s important to understand the basic difference among other types of backups.
Traditional/local-only backup
These backups keep everything close to you on a physical storage device. It saves your data on a hard drive, a network device, or something else in your office. It’s fast when you need to get a file back. But if something big happens like a fire, flood, or system crash, both your main data and your backup can be lost at the same time. It’s quick, but not always safe.
Cloud-only backup
This type of backup usually supports businesses that are moving to cloud-native environments or going through digital transformation. It sends all your data to a remote cloud and keeps it safe from anything that could affect your office systems. But when you need to pull back large files, recovery can take time. Your internet speed could slow things down, and restoring big chunks of data could take days.
Hybrid backup
This form of backup takes the smart middle path. It stores your most recent backups on-site so you can recover them quickly. At the same time, it sends a copy to the cloud to keep your data safe from anything that might affect your physical setup. You get fast access when you need it and cloud protection when you least expect trouble.
And here’s the best part. Hybrid backup also helps you manage space and cost. You can move older data to cheaper storage as time passes. That way, you’re not paying to protect things you rarely need, but you still have them if you ever need them.
Why do businesses choose the hybrid backup model?
The hybrid backup model came from real problems that businesses kept running into again and again. It wasn’t built in theory or created just to tick a box. It grew from the need to solve a few very clear challenges. Many companies struggled to balance speed and safety. Local backups were fast but risky. Cloud backups were safer but slower. Hybrid backup solved this by offering both.
Another challenge was the changing nature of backup needs. On most days, you don’t need access to backup data. But when something big happens, you need access to a lot of data at once. Hybrid backup adjusts to this.
Security threats have also changed. Hackers now go after backup systems directly. When your only copy is in one place, it becomes an easy target. Hybrid backup spreads out your protection so even if one area gets hit, your data stays safe somewhere else.
What makes hybrid backup even more useful is flexibility. As your business grows or your needs shift, you can change your backup plan without replacing everything. It also helps with compliance. Many industries require a copy of data to be stored off-site. Hybrid backup already does that. So you meet those rules without needing a separate system or complicated workarounds.
5 steps to create your own hybrid backup
Hybrid backup works simply and smartly. Here is step-by-step process:
1. Create a local backup
Hybrid backup starts by saving a copy of your data to on-site storage like a server or hard drive. It captures full backups and incremental changes to avoid starting over each time.
2. Copy to the cloud
Once the local backup is complete, the system quietly sends another copy to the cloud. It follows your backup rules, skips unnecessary files, and compresses data to save space. Your data stays encrypted and secure from start to finish.
3. Optimize long-term storage
As backups age, the system checks how often you use them. If you no longer need them right away, it shifts them to more affordable cloud storage. This keeps your costs low and your local storage free for current data.
4. Centralized management
You manage everything through a single interface. Whether your data sits locally or in the cloud, you have full control from one place.
5. Fast and flexible recovery
When you need to restore data, the system chooses the best path. It pulls from local storage for speed or switches to the cloud if local options are unavailable.
What are the core benefits of hybrid backup?
Hybrid backup does more than just store your data. Here are a few of the ways it helps:
Faster restores
Hybrid backup keeps a copy of your data close by. That means you can restore files quickly without long waiting periods. This matters most when you need to recover large files like databases or virtual machines. It also helps when you just need a file back fast. Whether it’s one document or an entire system, you can get back to work without losing time.
Control over data residency
Hybrid backup gives you more than just protection. It gives you control. You decide what data stays on-site and what moves to the cloud. You choose how often backups run and where they land. This flexibility helps your IT team align data protection with how your business actually works.
Cyber resilience
Not every incident is a disaster. Sometimes it’s a slow, hard drive. Sometimes it’s a misclick. Hybrid backup supports both the small moments and the big ones. It adapts to your needs without requiring you to change your systems overnight.
Less pressure on your network during restore
Restoring everything from the cloud can slow down your operations. With hybrid backup, your network doesn’t carry all the weight. Local copies reduce stress on bandwidth, especially when multiple teams need access at the same time.
Compliance readiness
Many businesses treat compliance as a checklist. Hybrid backup makes it part of your normal routine. With role-based access, secure encryption, and multiple storage points, it becomes easier to align with privacy rules and audits without last-minute scrambles.
Future ready
As your business shifts toward more remote work or cloud-first tools, hybrid backup grows with you. It lets you scale your protection strategy over time, not all at once. That makes transitions smoother and avoids sudden cost jumps or infrastructure overhauls.
What are the 5 common use cases for hybrid backup?
Hybrid backup offers everyday reliability, flexibility, and ease to complex operations.
1. Business continuity
Companies use hybrid backup to stay prepared. It helps them recover quickly from everyday issues and also protects them during bigger disruptions. This makes sure work continues even in adverse situations.
2. Ransomware recovery
Attackers now target backups too. If they reach your local systems, they may also lock or delete local backups. Hybrid backup adds a layer of security by storing clean copies offsite in the cloud. That gives you safe recovery points after an attack.
3. Protection for multiple sites
If your business runs in different locations, hybrid backup helps you manage protection from one place. You don’t need separate tools or teams for each site.
4. Support for older systems
Not every system has strong backup options built in. Hybrid backup works even with older platforms and fills the gaps. You don’t need to modernize everything to stay protected.
5. Development and test recovery
When teams test new things, systems can break. Hybrid backup helps recover fast from these failures without touching production data. It keeps work separate and safe.
Related Glossaries
CrashPlan provides cyber-ready data resilience and governance in a single platform for organizations whose ideas power their revenue. With its comprehensive backup and recovery capabilities for data stored on servers, on endpoint devices, and in SaaS applications, CrashPlan’s solutions are trusted by entrepreneurs, professionals, and businesses of all sizes worldwide. From ransomware recovery and breaches to migrations and legal holds, CrashPlan’s suite of products ensures the safety and compliance of your data without disruption.
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