Did you know that 96% of businesses don't have a backup for their workstations? Data loss is a real thing. It can happen to your business at any time, as you can never know when your hard drive or server will fail.
That's why you should back up critical data. However, assessing which type of backup fits specific business needs can be confusing, as there are several approaches you can take.
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Three Types of Backups
As we’ve ascertained, backups are used to ensure data security, providing you with an on-demand copy of your data. If your backup is not up to date, a single breach can cost your business fortunes. According to a study, 29% of businesses encountering a breach lose significant revenue.
It's not unusual for businesses to use multiple types of backups — full, incremental, and differential, all offered by the top IT service providers.
Let's take a closer look at each backup type:
Full Backup
A full backup is a process that involves the creation of a complete copy of an organization's files, folders, SaaS data, and hard drives. All the data is backed up into a single version and moved to a storage device.
Pros and Cons of Full Backups
A full backup is simply a copy of your entire system or file structure from one point in time. While this may seem like it would be sufficient for most businesses, this is not always the case.
Let's check the pros and cons.
Pros:
- It's an all-encompassing solution, and full backup is the most comprehensive way to restore data because all the files you need are contained in the same backup set.
- If you only need to restore all your data in the event of a full wipe, this could be a good option as long as the backup is recent, allowing for minimal losses.
Cons:
- If you're running a full backup, you're backing up all your files at once every time, which can be time-consuming.
- It may also strain your network.
- Storing full backups can be an issue if there’s a lot of data.
When Do You Need to Use Full Backups?
Research shows that 75% of small businesses don't have a recovery plan. If you have a small business that may not have much data to back up, full backups are probably the best option, as the downsides we discussed will be minimal given the data size.
However, you should also consider encryption if you plan to use full backups. If unauthorized users gain access to your backup, they have access to everything.
Incremental Backup
The biggest challenge with backing up your data is the time it takes to do so with moderate or large data sets. But what if you could reduce this time in half?
This is where incremental backups come in, and they’re precisely what you might assume: they involve backing up only the files that have changed since the last backup activity.
Pros and Cons of Incremental Backups
But like other backup types, incremental backups also have their drawbacks. Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
- It's also a good option for organizations that want to recover quickly after an incident where hardware or software failure occurs but don't need to restore all their data at once.
- Incremental backups are meant to save space and time. They involve only backing up the most recent changes in a file.
Cons:
- Incremental backups would take more time if many files were not backed up during the last cumulative activity.
- Successful recovery is only possible if all the backup files aren’t corrupted. An error in one file may prevent the entire restore process from being completed successfully.
When Do You Need to Use Incremental Backups?
Incremental backups should only be used when planning for long-term storage needs, such as archiving — not for day-to-day backup needs, for which a full backup would be ideal.
With incremental backups, you only store one copy of each file in your database (or other storage location) instead of two copies, as all the backed-up data gets updated. This makes more efficient use of storage space, and thus, it’s cheaper.
Differential Backup
If you're looking for a way to manage multiple data backups, then differential backups may be suitable. A differential backup is a compromise between regular full backups and regular incremental backups.
It involves backing up data created or changed since the last full backup. To put it simply, a full backup is done initially, and subsequent backups are run to include all the changes made to the files and folders.
A differential backup has the same basic structure as an incremental backup, but the difference is that it involves making copies only of new files or files that underwent some kind of change.
Pros and Cons of Differential Backups
Differential backups are slower than incremental backups but faster than full backups.
As with any data backup method, the pros and cons of differential vs. incremental will vary based on the type of data you're backing up and how often you need to restore it.
Pros:
- It reduces bandwidth consumption by reducing the number of files backed up at any given time.
- It helps lessen problems caused by human error or computer crashes occurring during regular backups, as whole new copies are created, reducing the risk of data corruption.
- Differential backups also provide more flexibility than other types of backups because they allow you to choose how many files are included in each backup set and how complex or simple it should be.
Cons:
- With this backup model, all the files created since the original full backup will always be copied again.
- Differential backups take up more space than incremental backups.
When Do You Need to Use Differential Backups?
Simply put, differential backups are the safest solution, and they allow you to archive multiple iterations of the same data sets. The latter allows you to retrieve data from a past point in time, even if it may have changed in the meantime.
Full vs. Incremental vs. Differential Backup
To better understand how these three backup methods compare, here’s a table:
| Feature | Full Backup | Incremental Backup | Differential Backup |
| Description | Captures the complete data set | Saves changes since the last backup made, be it incremental or full | Saves changes made since the last full backup |
| Backup Size | Large backup size | Smallest initial backup size that can increase over time | Largest backup size |
| Backup Frequency | Ideally, moderate frequency. | More frequent than a full backup | Less frequent than incremental backups, but more frequent than a full backup |
| Restore Time | Long restore time | Longest restore time | Quickest restore time |
| Dependency | Independent backup | Relies on the previous backup | Depends solely on the last full backup |
| Storage Efficiency | Least efficient in terms of storage | Most efficient in terms of storage | More storage-efficient than full backups |
| Backup Process | Requires more time and resources | Quicker and less resource-intensive, as it only backs up changes | Faster than full backups, but slower than incremental backups. |
Types of Backups: Final Thoughts
If you're running a business, you know that downtime is costly, and when your business is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the cost of downtime is even higher. This is why it's essential to understand how backups work and how they can help your enterprise cybersecurity.
With these three data backup methods, you'll have plenty of options for a seamless business continuity plan. If you have a small team, you can also get help from IT and managed service providers.
FAQs
What is the best data backup type?
The best type of data backup largely depends on your specific needs. If you prioritize thoroughness and have ample storage space, a full backup might meet your needs best. However, if you're after speed and efficiency, an incremental backup could be your best choice. Lastly, a differential backup might be a balanced choice for you if you desire a combination of both thorough data protection and storage efficiency.
Which backup is most efficient?
When it comes to efficiency, the incremental backup technique stands out. This method only backs up the data that has changed since the last backup, making it quicker and using less storage compared to other techniques.
