The Key Difference Between Data Backup and Data Archiving

Data protection and data archiving are two terms often mentioned in the same breath and may seem almost analogous on the surface. After all, both involve backing up business data for future use.

However, this is where the similarities end.

Backups and archives are used for entirely different purposes and are quite different in several ways.

Here, I will briefly describe some of the critical differences between backup and archive and necessary standard features that are important in both.

Backup is for the improvement from hardware failure or recent corruption, or data loss.

Archiving is about space management, compliance, risk aversion, and long-term retention.

Backup data versus archive

The data stored in the backup is a copy of the current and active operating data used by the business. It includes files that are currently accessed and changed regularly.

Archived files are generally no longer used, changed frequently, and searched regularly.

As such, employees will not be modified if these files are moved from regular business storage. However, files stored in the archive can still be easily accessed by employees by uploading files.

Backup is utterly a copy of the current and active data stored on your servers. When you back up your data, the original files are not affected and still live in the exact location.

While archiving is also a copy of your data, the archiving process moves data from your business’s primary storage location to less expensive and longer-term storage locations.

Because the purpose of the backup and the archive are different, the features valued in each are also various. With backup, speed is an important attribute.

Because backups are often made regularly to keep up to date, it is essential that they can be completed quickly.

Equally important is the ability to recover swiftly and recover data in the event of data loss, as the fast backup procedure allows your business to limit the impact of its operations.