We have all been taught again and again that we need to regularly backup our computer files. After all, there are only two kinds of people in this world: those who have had the unfortunate experience of losing critical data, and those who eventually will. Because of this, it is highly advisable to make use of an online backup service as a means of storing copies of your valuable data in the cloud.

But what about your actual cloud data? If you make use of a wide variety of cloud-based services, you should give serious consideration to developing and implementing a solid backup strategy for all of your cloud services and data.

What would you do, for example, if you suddenly found yourself locked out of your cloud-based email account? To be more accurate, the question should be, what couldn't you do in the event that this occurred?

Although it's unfortunate, this scenario is very possible. It was recently reported that a social media consultant by the name of Chris Brogan found himself locked out of all of his Google services. This event transpired as a result of Google having detected "abnormal usage", and caused his account to be locked out for 24 hours. Although his access was eventually restored, the experience makes it clear that it's very important for businesses to expect the unexpected, and make plans for how to access cloud-based services and information - no matter what.

Planning Your Cloud Data Backup Strategy

If your business does not already have a strong backup strategy in place, it is high time that you started putting together a game plan. Fortunately, the process of backing up cloud data tends to follow the same basic principles as the process of backing up local files on a computer. To successfully implement your backup program, here are a few of the key factors that you should take into consideration:

Plan Your Backup Storage Location

If you are being serious about making backups of your files, it's important that you do not ever store your backups in the same physical location as the originals. If your building was robbed, affected by a fire, or a flood sweeps through your office, your backup hard drive could wind up being completely destroyed, right along with your primary computer or computers. It is because of this that cloud based backup solutions make the most sense, strategically. The same logic applies to your cloud based data. Although it's true that natural disasters may not be able to infiltrate or harm the data, it is very possible for servers to become compromised, for internet connections to be suddenly lost, or for outside companies to change their policies in such a way that your access to your cloud-based files becomes affected.

Plan to Backup Gmail

When you or your business makes use of Gmail services, you should take advantage of Thunderbird. This free mail program will simplify the process of backing up your Gmail documents, as it will work to collect and store copies of all of your Gmail messages, directly to your computer by way of POP access. Because Thunderbird stores email messages and data in a simple text file format, it is extremely easy to access them in the event that you need to. If you utilize other web-based email services, you may need to look into paying for premium services that will enable you to have POP access and allow Thunderbird to preserve your data.

Plan to Backup Google Documents

For business who use Google Documents as a teaching and/or collaborative tool, you should look into cloud storage solutions like GDocBackup. This program works by backing up solely the data that is not present on your hard drive, or that has a different revision date.

Plan to Backup Photos

Photos are quite easy to back up, thanks to free cloud-based storage and sharing sites online.

Plan to Backup Cloud Services Comprehensively

The best way to protect your cloud based data is by working with a reputable vendor or full service provider who is able to provide backup plans for all of your services like mail, photos, tweets, documents, and numerous other data types.

Plan to Think Outside the Box

In addition to backing up your cloud-based data and services, it's a good idea to take steps that will prevent crises from occurring altogether. Many businesses make the decision to work with a monitoring service who is capable of continuously testing cloud email solutions and hosted websites for functionality and security. By quickly detecting errors, you can prevent yourself from losing valuable data and information before the problem even starts.

By taking the time to plan ahead, you can rest assured that all of your cloud data will be backed up and protected.