Backup as a service (BaaS) is an approach to backing up data that involves purchasing backup and recovery services from an online data backup provider. Instead of performing backup with a centralized, on-premises IT department, BaaS connects systems to a private, public or hybrid cloud managed by the outside provider. Backup as a service is easier to manage than other offsite services. Instead of worrying about rotating and managing tapes or hard disks at an offsite location, data storage administrators can offload maintenance and management to the provider.
BaaS may be used when an organization has outgrown its legacy storage backup and would have to go through a costly upgrade, or lacks the resources for on-premises, high-level backup. Outsourcing backup and recovery to a provider can also keep data accessible or restorable from a remote location in case of an outage or failure.
DRaaS vs. backup as a service (BaaS)
DRaaS fails over processing to the cloud so an organization can continue to operate during a disaster. The failover notice can be automated or manual. The DRaaS operation remains in effect until IT can repair the on-premises environment and issue a failback order.
In backup as a service, an organization decides which files it will back up to a BaaS provider’s storage systems. The customer organization is also responsible for setting up its RPO and RTO service levels, as well as its backup windows. A BaaS provider is only responsible for data consistency and restoring backed up copies of data.