We are at a point, where data has become an integral part of our lives. Be it a business, or an individual, we deal with various types of data in our daily lives. Two common terms that often come up in this space are data restore and data backup. While they are closely related, they serve different purposes.
Many people, especially those who are not tech-savvy, mix up these terms. But knowing the difference between the two can save you a lot of hassle and time. That being said, let’s take a closer look at what each one means and why they matter.
What Is Data Restore?
Data restore involves retrieving lost or damaged data from a backup. If something goes wrong like you accidentally deleted the files, or your system crashed, restoring helps get it back to how it was.
It is worth mentioning that you cannot restore anything unless you have backed it up first. If you lose data and don’t have a backup, you may not be able to recover it at all.
What is Data Backup?
Data backup means creating a copy of your files and storing it in a safe place like on a server, external hard drive, or cloud platform. The goal is to have a version of your data ready in case something goes wrong with the original.
Many companies and businesses follow the 3-2-1 rule, where they keep three copies of their data in two different places, and ensure one of them is off-site. Backing up regularly not only saves time but also reduces the risk of losing your data.
Differences between Data Restore And Data Backup
We have explained the main differences between data restore and data backup in the lines below.
- Backup is all about saving your data on another device and keeping it somewhere safe.
- Restoring data is what you do when something goes wrong with the original files. In this case, you retrieve the files from your backup.
Both data restoration and backup are essential. Unless you backup your data regularly, you cannot restore it if something happens to your system. In short, they go hand-in-hand, so you cannot ignore anyone while dealing with data.
