--- title: Where to Back Up Now – Locally or in the Cloud? description: Data is the lifeline of your organization. You, as an IT system administrator, know this perfectly well through the daily trials and tribulations babysitting your IT systems, through the pain and suffering of getting things back up and running when they go down. Because of this you know that backing up everything you manage is essential – and maybe you even learned this hard way. canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/where-back-now-locally-or-cloud/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # Where to Back Up Now – Locally or in the Cloud? Data is the lifeline of your organization. You, as an IT system administrator, know this perfectly well through the daily trials and tribulations babysitting your IT systems, through the pain and suffering of getting things back up and running when they go down. Because of this you know that backing up everything you manage is essential – and maybe you even learned this hard way. [Learn More](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cyber-protect/) [![Image 2: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/ "Acronis Editorial Team") [Acronis Editorial Team](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/acronis/) 1 min read Last updated 16 April 2018 Data is the lifeline of your organization. You, as an IT system administrator, know this perfectly well through the daily trials and tribulations babysitting your IT systems, through the pain and suffering of getting things back up and running when they go down. Because of this you know that backing up everything you manage is essential – and maybe you even learned this hard way. So, what do you do? First, you select a complete and reliable backup solution, and provision it in your environment. However, when you get to the settings of your backup policy, you are stumped by the simple question: “_Where do you want to back up_ _to_?” “Hold on. Where do I want to back up?” you ask yourself. The software gives you multiple options – disk, network, cloud, tape – but which one is _the_ best? Well, it can be tricky – as there is no absolute best option. For example: * Disk gives you speed, but it’s located in the same server, so it won’t protect you if the server fails. * Local network storage protects you from single server failure, but what about floods, fires or storms that destroy an entire data center? * Tape can be taken far away from the disaster, but it’s slow and cumbersome. * Cloud is one of the best options – yet your company’s internet connection plays a role. The best approach to protect your organization’s valuable data is to use a combination of storage devices. At Acronis, we prescibe the [**3-2-1 rule of backup**](http://promo.acronis.com/AMER-FY15-Q3-NAM-EN-Acronis-Backup-Service-3-2-1-Email-Infographic.html?sfdc_campaignID=70150000000xnq9&source_detail=AMERICAS-FY15-Q3-NAM-EN-ABS_3-2-1_Infographic_3-2-1&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRokvqTAdO%2FhmjTEU5z17%2B8pXqC0): **3.** Store your data in 3 locations – Production, Local Backup, Offsite Backup **2.**Back up your data to 2 types of media – Disk and Cloud are the most popular **1.** Put 1 copy of your data off-site – using Cloud backup (or Tape, if Cloud is not for you) With the 3-2-1 rule of backup, you can restore files and single systems quickly from local on-premise storage, and restore entire infrastructure from an off-site copy in case of major issues, power outages or disasters. This approach will also help you to devise your backup strategy faster, giving more options to the business to continue its operations no matter what happens. Stay safe and and keep your data protected with the 3-2-1 rule of backup. To learn more, check out this video that describes the 3-2-1 rule in more detail, and how it helps you to protect your business. [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) ## Written by ![Image 3: Acronis Editorial Team](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d85707ae91461544212d39836dc32b42.png) Acronis Editorial Team Acronis is a global cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management for managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/why-icloud-google-drive-and-dropbox-cant-truly-protect-your-data/) [Why iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox Can’t Truly Protect Your Data](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/why-icloud-google-drive-and-dropbox-cant-truly-protect-your-data/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/there-roi-it-disaster-recovery/) [Is there an ROI in IT Disaster Recovery?](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/there-roi-it-disaster-recovery/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com) ## Related stories Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog. 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