This article published on the MiniTool official website provides a concise comparison of on-premises and off-premises backups. It primarily discusses the definitions, pros, cons, selection, and creation of these two types of backups. Additionally, the reasons for storing backup media off-site or on-site are explained.

It is suggested that a copy of data backup should be kept at an off-site location to counteract cyber threats from viruses or malware, human errors like incorrect operations, accidental drops, or theft, and natural disasters such as fires, floods, and outages.

What Is Offsite Backup?

Offsite backup, also referred to as remote data protection or vaulting, is the practice of moving essential data away from the primary location (off the main site) in computing. Typically, critical data is transferred offsite to remote servers like an online cloud, usually through the network. Offsite backup is a component of the disaster recovery plan.

Important data can also be transported electronically using a remote backup service, which is also called electronic vaulting (e-vaulting).

Storing data copies off-site allows systems and servers to be restored after any disaster such as system failure or accidental mistakes.

Some organizations create and maintain their own off-site backups. However, most other organizations opt to rely on a third-party professional service to manage and store their offsite backups.

What Is Onsite Backup?

Conversely, on-site backup involves saving backups periodically on local storage devices such as external and removable devices like magnetic media (including HDDs, SSDs, USB flash drives, thumb drives, SD cards, tapes, etc.) and optical discs (including CDs/DVDs).

Also read: Computer Storage Devices: Types & Examples and Usage

Onsite Backup vs Offsite Backup: Pros and Cons

When comparing on-site backup and off-site backup, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of Offsite Backup

• Flexible data access: accessible from anywhere
• Data can be accessed by many different remote locations by sharing or saving on different devices
• Data remains safe if the main computer is damaged or stolen
• Virus-resistant

Of course, off-site backup also has some disadvantages. Accessing data stored off-site can be inconvenient, and a network is required to access off-site files. Furthermore, it may take a certain amount of time to restore data from off-site devices after a disaster, depending on the Internet bandwidth.

Related article: Best Practice: 3-2-1 Backup Strategy for Home Users & Businesses

Advantages of Onsite Backup

• Convenient data access: available anytime
• No need for Internet access
• Quick data recovery if the hard disk drive storing backups is still available after accidents.
• Cost-effective
• High processing speed
• Easy installation

The biggest disadvantage of on-site backup is that if an accident occurs to the main machine, all data will be lost, including both the source and backups. Additionally, on-site backup is susceptible to virus attacks.

Onsite Backup vs Offsite Backup: Which to Choose?

Between off-site backup and on-site backup, which one to select? Generally, it depends on your needs! For different individuals, the situation varies. Thus, some may find on-site backup useful while others may prefer off-site backup.

If you wish to manage your data yourself and intend to use it frequently, you should opt for an on-site backup. Conversely, if you don't want to spend time on cumbersome data management and don't use some files often, you can store them offline.

Alternatively, for different types of files, you can perform different backups. For files that you frequently use, just keep an on-site copy. For those files that you don't use much, you'd better store a copy of them offsite in a safe place from physical disasters.

Or, if you have sufficient on-site and off-site storage space, you can create two backups of all your data, with one backup stored on-site and the other off-site. However, typically, few people have enough storage space to do that.

Onsite and Offsite Backup Solutions

Regardless of which type of backup you choose or both, you can rely on one of the professional and secure on-site and off-site backup services like MiniTool ShadowMaker to protect your data from loss or damage.

1. Download, install, and open MiniTool ShadowMaker on your main PC.
2. If it prompts you to purchase, simply click Keep Trial in the upper right corner to continue using it freely.
3. Once it enters its main interface, click Backup in the top menu.
4. On the Backup page, click the Source module to select the data you want to back up.
5. Click the Destination module and choose the storage location. This is the most crucial part. If you want to create an off-site backup, just connect the removable device to this computer or server and select the removable drive as the destination. Alternatively, you can choose the remote shared location (NAS) as the destination. If you'd like to build an on-site backup, just pick a local address as the storage location.
6. Finally, click Backup Now to start the process.

If you want the selected data to be backed up regularly and automatically in the future, you can set up a schedule for this task by clicking the Schedule button in the bottom left.

MiniTool ShadowMaker is not only an on-site and off-site backup software but also a file synchronization and disk cloning program to duplicate your files and entire hard drives. Moreover, it can also help you create bootable media to boot up crashed computers.

Offsite Backup vs Onsite Backup: Conclusion

That covers everything regarding the differences between on-site backup and off-site backup. Both have their benefits and drawbacks. As for which to choose? For different scenarios, the choice varies. If you have different opinions, feel free to share them in the comments section below!

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