The Best Backup Solutions: Secure Your Data Today!

Today, we're going beyond the common reasons for data protection, since you already understand their importance. Instead, let’s explore the various data backup options available, including the best software, skills, and storage solutions that will help you protect what matters most. 

Introduction 

In the world of backups, organizations typically choose between two non-exclusive approaches: enterprise backup solutions and specialized backups. 

Enterprise backup solutions are comprehensive software platforms that can capture data from multiple sources and store it across various destinations, whether on-premises or in the cloud. These platforms often provide centralized management, flexible scheduling, compliance certifications, and integrations with both physical and virtual infrastructure. Solutions such as Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, or Cohesity are widely used because they can scale to support company-wide strategies and meet U.S. regulatory requirements such as HIPAA and PCI DSS rules. 

Specialized backups, on the other hand, are optimized for specific applications or databases, such as Oracle RMAN or SAP HANA Backint. They deliver high performance and cost efficiency but typically require skilled administrators and may need additional integration work to align with broader enterprise policies. 

No matter which approach is taken, it is critical to follow backup best practices. The 3-2-1 rule recommends three copies of data (one primary and two backups) on two different media types, with one copy stored off-site. A modern extension, the 3-2-1-1-0 strategy, adds one copy stored offline or immutable and zero backup verification errors. These practices are increasingly important in defending against ransomware and ensuring compliance in U.S. industries. The choice of software and hardware should always balance technical requirements, regulatory obligations, and budget constraints.  

Enterprise Backup Solutions 

Enterprise backup solutions provide one of the most practical ways to safeguard valuable data while balancing cost and reliability. Cloud storage is particularly effective for off-site copies, helping organizations meet disaster recovery and business continuity requirements. Modern backup platforms integrate directly with cloud object storage services—such as AWS S3, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, or OVHcloud Object Storage—so data can be retained securely and retrieved when needed. 

Many enterprises already use solutions like Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, or Cohesity, and staff experience with these platforms is highly transferable. Standardized concepts such as backup jobs, retention policies, and recovery points make it easier to adapt existing skills to cloud-based deployments. However, migrations still require careful planning to align with application requirements, bandwidth constraints, and regulatory obligations.

For U.S. organizations, enterprise backup solutions are often chosen for their ability to meet compliance requirements under frameworks like HIPAA for healthcare or PCI DSS for the payment card industry. These solutions combine centralized management with built-in reporting and audit features, making them a reliable foundation for a comprehensive backup strategy.  

OVHcloud Enterprise Backup Solutions 

At OVHcloud, our IaaS platforms are certified to work with leading Enterprise Backup solutions such as Veeam, with HYCU certification coming soon. Customers can source licenses directly through OVHcloud, avoiding the need to purchase from a separate provider and simplifying vendor management. 

Both Veeam and HYCU support integration with a wide range of operating systems and applications, while offering deep compatibility with VMware and Nutanix hypervisors. These solutions are certified to run with common storage protocols, including NFS (Network File System), CIFS/SMB (Common Internet File System/Server Message Block), and object storage. They also provide advanced options to strengthen security, such as immutability for backup repositories, encryption at rest and in transit, and role-based access control—capabilities that are increasingly important to U.S. enterprises facing strict compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX).  

It’s slightly outside the scope of this blog, but our Managed VMware platform even has an option for disaster recovery powered by Zerto, allowing you to add replication to the highly recommended backups. 

Our Public Cloud instances can be protected using snapshots and backups.  

Other Enterprise Backup Solutions 

If you want more control over your backup strategy, leveraging your expertise and fitting it to your specific requirements, it is possible to build your own backup infrastructure with OVHcloud. 

All the major players in the Enterprise Backup market are compatible and already used by OVHcloud’s customers. To mention just a few: Veeam, HYCU (coming soon to the US), Datamotive, Nakivo, Veritas Technologies, Scality, CommVault, Rubrik, Acronis, and Cohesity. 

Open-Source Backup Solutions 

If you’d rather use open-source software, Bacula is a perfectly viable option, or the simple but robust rsync. After all, if you just need to keep a reasonably updated copy of your data somewhere else, the simplest tool can often do the job. There are many open-source options… 

Specialized Backup Solutions 

Kubernetes workloads 

In the Cloud Native / Public Cloud / PaaS environment, you have access to and compatibility with the main players: 

• Velero 
• CloudCasa 
• TrilioVault 
• Veeam Kasten 
• and many others. 

Application/Database workloads 

What if you use specific application/database mechanisms? 

Since OVHcloud promises to be open, agnostic, and reversible, we do not block third-party software from interacting with your data. If you have the expertise to install and manage them, you can use them. Many solutions integrate a mechanism, such as pre-backup and post-backup, to launch a backup of your databases. Our VMware and/or Nutanix solutions support Veeam Enterprise and HYCU. 

As specified earlier, providers like Nakivo, Veritas Technologies, Scality, CommVault, Rubrik, Acronis, and Cohesity offer database-specific modules. 

OVHcloud PaaS Backup 

Our Public Cloud instances can be protected using snapshots and backups, and our Managed Kubernetes are compatible with several industry-leading backup software such as Velero, Triliovault, and CloudCasa. 

Here is a recap of how our Public Cloud Managed products are secured and the options available to you: 

SaaS Backup and Solutions 

When discussing cloud and specialized backup, we can’t forget to mention the SaaS offers. Although they’re convenient, affordable, and widely available, ensuring that your data is safe is not always included in the contract. It’s always important to research this beforehand, or you might discover unsuspected charges for your backup. 

Different Types of Storage For Your Backup 

Whether you are using an Enterprise Backup Solution or a Specialized Backup mechanism, you can store the backups on dedicated servers (Bare Metal storage), dedicated storage (NAS/HA, Enterprise File Storage), or the current global preferred choice for backup, Object Storage. 

All OVHcloud storage solutions can be found here: https://us.ovhcloud.com/storage-solutions/  

And because a picture is worth a thousand words (and that’s about how many words you’ve read so far in this article): 

Object Storage and Cold Archive 

Object Storage is particularly well-adapted to backup because: 

Data growth is not limited by the underlying hardware. 

• It’s cost-effective. 
• It’s pseudo-disconnected or fully disconnected in some cases. 
• It’s application/Operating System agnostic. 
• It’s friendly to static data. 
• It works with tapes. 

Our Object Storage options are: 

• Standard Object Storage: Ideal for general backups. 
• High Performance Object Storage: Ideal for critical and large backups, as its high performance reduces backup and restore time. 
• Cold Archive: Ideal for meeting the legal requirement for data conservation and disconnected backup for safety. 

Block Storage 

Block storage remains a highly attractive option for backups due to its low-latency, high-performance characteristics and support for RAID-based redundancy. It is widely used in on-premises infrastructures, where storage arrays are distributed across multiple data centers. While block storage provides reliable and predictable I/O for server backups and critical workloads, it should not be considered a substitute for off-site or versioned backups. Typically, block storage is accessed through virtual machines, hypervisors, or containerized environments rather than directly by end users. In cloud deployments, block storage offers the same performance and safety characteristics, making it a versatile choice for both on-prem and cloud-based backup strategies.  

OVHcloud Professional Services: Expert Guidance at Every Step 

Cloud transformation can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to navigate it alone. OVHcloud Professional Services offers expert guidance to help organizations make confident, informed decisions throughout their cloud journey. Whether you’re planning a migration, modernizing workloads, or optimizing an existing infrastructure, our experienced Solution Architects and technical consultants are here to support you with tailored assessments, hands-on guidance, and implementation expertise. 

Already in the cloud? Then the focus shifts to protecting what you’ve built. And here’s the important truth: data protection is your responsibility, not the provider’s. Just because your data resides in the cloud doesn’t mean it’s automatically protected in the event of an incident. 

At OVHcloud, we provide access to snapshots for certain services, but these are not formal backups and do not include Service-Level Agreements (SLAs). They may not comply with best practices like the 3-2-1 backup rule, which makes it critical to implement your own resilient data protection strategy. 

This is where OVHcloud Professional Services can step in. Our team can work with you to: 

• Design a robust data protection and disaster recovery strategy 
• Implement reliable backup solutions tailored to your workloads 
• Help ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements 
• Optimize your cloud environment for performance, security, and cost-efficiency 

Whether you're just starting out or refining your current cloud strategy, OVHcloud Professional Services gives you the confidence and tools you need to build a secure, scalable, and future-ready infrastructure. 

Learn more: OVHcloud Professional Services 

Conclusion 

Let’s finish by talking about the ideal global backup service approach for you, encompassing software and storage. The main differentiator is going to be: how much control do you want over your backup? Once you have an inventory of the data you need to back up, the first step is to check compatibility with existing or future Enterprise Backup Solutions.  

Then you need to verify which of the Software Solutions you’re considering are suitable for your backup strategy. This is the perfect time to step back and ask the following questions: Have you missed anything? Does everything comply with industry standards? And finally, who can help you find the best balance between safety and cost? I hope I’ve helped you address many of these questions and encourage you to take a look at what OVHcloud can offer to balance safety, cost, and control. 

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