Online backup service, also known as cloud backup or backup as a service (BaaS), is a method of offsite data storage in which files, folders, or the entire contents of a hard drive are regularly backed up by a service vendor to a remote secure cloud-based data repository over a network connection.

The purpose of online backup is simple and straightforward: to protect the information – whether it's business data or personal – from the risk of loss associated with user error, hacking, or any other kind of technological disaster.

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

In employing backup as a service, the first step is to purchase and sign up for the service. Next, you select the services you want to back up. To back up Microsoft Office 365, select Exchange Online or SharePoint Online, or OneDrive for Business.

You make those selections only once. After the initial setup, changes to data you've selected, as well as new data added to the services you've selected, are backed up automatically and, with most online backup services, almost instantly.

Data is the essence of any organization. A staggering 60% of companies that lose critical data shut down within 6 months of the loss. Data loss is often a major concern for software-as-a-service (SaaS) customers because SaaS vendors’ backup policies cannot guarantee a complete and speedy restore of lost data. Data can be put in jeopardy by user error, hacking, sync issues, or malicious insiders.

Data loss, and the worry that surrounds it, can be easily avoided by pairing SaaS applications with a complete BaaS backup and recovery solution.

Backup as a service offers many benefits, including:

• Convenience. The convenience offered by BaaS solutions is indisputable. BaaS is automated — once it's set up, information is saved automatically as it streams in. You don't have to proactively save, label, and track information. Rather, the convenience of BaaS allows you to concentrate on your work without worrying about data loss.
  
  
• Safety. Because your data is stored in the BaaS, you are not subject to the typical threats of hackers, natural disasters, and user error. In fact, data that is stored in the BaaS is encrypted, which minimizes the risks your data can incur.
  
  
• Ease of recovery. Due to multiple levels of redundancy, if data is lost or deleted (most frequently through individual user error or deletion), backups are available and easily located. Multiple levels of redundancy means that your BaaS stores multiple copies of your data in locations independent of each other. The more levels you have stored the better, because each level ensures that your data is safeguarded against loss as much as possible, allowing you to access a backed-up version of your data if it ever gets lost.
  
  
• Affordability. BaaS can be less expensive than the cost of tape drives, servers, or other hardware and software elements necessary to perform backup; the media on which the backups are stored; the transportation of media to a remote location for safekeeping; and the IT labor required to manage and troubleshoot backup systems.