Backups are non-negotiable. Without them you risk severe consequences: data loss, downtime, and damaged trust. But many businesses skip them anyway. Why is this? What makes backups so stressful that companies would rather gamble with their financial future?
Often, the answer is pricing. Backups cost money to implement and maintain. Given that best practices demand multiple be kept at once, it’s easy to see why many businesses see them as unrealistic.
But it doesn’t need to be this way. Azure backups, for instance, can be very affordable, as long as you know what to expect and how to prepare. And that is precisely what this article will teach you.
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Understanding Azure Backup Pricing
Generally speaking, Azure backup services are priced based on several key variables: the size of the protected data, the type of information being backed up (files, SQL, etc) and the retention period (the length of time data is held for before being disposed of).
Azure offers several backup options, all of which are charged slightly differently. For example:
Azure VM Backup Pricing: Typically involves both a fixed fee for the number of protected instances, plus variable data storage charges.
Azure SQL Backup Pricing: Depends on whether you’re backing up a single database, a managed instance, or using long-term retention.
As you can see, this adds a certain degree of uncertainty that makes it difficult for many businesses to feel comfortable committing. But there are factors you can control that can help keep costs low.
How Azure Backup Pricing Spirals Out of Control
There are a few key reasons that Azure backup costs often become unmanageable. Understanding these will help prevent it from happening to you.
The main culprits include:
- Over-Provisioning: It’s common for businesses to purchase far more storage space than they actually need, to ensure they don’t run out. But the truth is, if you are not using that storage, it’s just a waste of money.
- Over-Retention: Keeping data for too long can also create problems. Most Azure backup solutions charge more or less based on the amount of information stored. Retaining old, unnecessary data and then continuing to add more can quickly increase costs.
- Poor Data Management: If your business has poor data management practices in general, then you could accidentally backup duplicates, unnecessary files, and corrupted data. This again increases the amount of storage needed, raising costs.
- Under-Utilizing the Archive Tier: Microsoft offers a low-expense archive tier, designed for offline storage of rarely-used data. But many businesses don’t leverage this, and end up paying the normal rate for information they barely touch.
How to Reduce Azure Backup Costs
1. Right-Size Your Backups
Resist the temptation to purchase more storage than you actually need. Audit your existing data, and plan your backups accordingly. If you need a buffer to prevent data loss (for instance, the amount in storage increases rapidly and is at a high risk of loss), purchase as little as possible. If six months pass and you don’t use it, downgrade.
2. Set Retention Policies
While it seems like a good idea to keep your data forever, remember that each day could be adding to your storage bill. Consider which data you actually need, and what has been sitting unused for several years. Deleting unnecessary information will also help mitigate the damage caused if a breach occurs. After all, threat actors cannot steal what doesn’t exist.
3. Clean Your Data
Always go through your data and tidy it up before moving it into backup storage. Check that each file is accurate, up-to-date, and intact. This is time-consuming, but could save significant amounts of money down the line. You might be surprised at how much of your data is either broken or redundant.
4. Monitor and Optimise with Azure-Native Tools
Microsoft themselves provides several useful tools to help keep costs low. Use Azure Backup Pricing Estimator to get an idea of how much you can expect to pay. Then, employ Microsoft Cost Management to streamline your services and remove redundant charges.
5. Review and Clean Up Old Recovery Points
Azure’s recovery point system allows you to restore data in increments, rather than all at once. While this is a useful feature, recovery points can become obsolete over time. Review them periodically, removing outdated or unnecessary ones to free up space.
6. Use Archive Tier for Long-Term Storage
Old data that you need very occasionally should be kept in the archive tier. This will drastically lower costs, without requiring you to sacrifice data that you might need in the future.
Don’t Let Backup Bills Threaten Your Data
Azure backup pricing might be terrifyingly variable, but it’s not entirely unmanageable. By understanding the factors involved and working with them, you can keep costs under control while also protecting critical information. Data loss is never worth the risk. Manage your computing resources, research the price options available, and control the amount of data stored at all times. These simple steps will help you stay within budget.
If you’re worried about cloud backups, Cybersecure can help. We’re not a jack-of-all-trades, like many other IT service providers. We focus exclusively on backups, so you can be sure you’re getting high-quality assistance and our full attention. Get a quote for our cloud backup services today and start being proactive about data protection.
FAQs
What’s the Best Way to Estimate Azure Backup Costs?
Azure backups are usually priced based on the type and amount of information stored, as well as the retention period. Sometimes there is also fixed instance pricing. This will typically be a monthly cost. Using these factors, you can usually get a rough estimate of pricing. Alternatively, you can use Microsoft’s cost calculator.
What About Azure Backup Server Pricing?
Microsoft Azure backup server pricing is determined similarly to their other services. If you need more information, you can always use Microsoft’s cost calculator or speak to an expert.
How Does Veeam Azure Backup Pricing Compare to Native Azure Backup?
Some businesses may want to backup Azure data to a supported third-party platform such as Veeam, instead of backing up outside data to Azure (note that you should never backup Azure data in Azure). It’s difficult to provide an exact cost breakdown, as it is highly dependent on your business. However, backups are almost always priced based on the same few factors, so it should be fairly comparable.