There have been a myriad of myths surrounding cloud computing ever since its inception. Unfortunately, too many decision-makers believe these myths when evaluating a service like Amazon Web Services (AWS) for their backup solution, which can either lead them down a path where they live under a false sense of security or cause them to avoid using AWS due to misconceptions. Below, we will take a look at a few of the myths that surround AWS backup solutions and address them to give you the right information.

The cloud is not secure

It is 2018 and people still fall for this one. The cloud, like any other technology, is as secure as you make it. If you throw your backup data up on AWS and take no measures to protect it, your infrastructure, or the user accounts that access your data, then no, it is not secure.

However, AWS does build in a number of security features to ensure that their part of the process is secure. According to their literature, they are responsible for the security “of” the cloud. They have a team in place to do much more to secure that infrastructure than most organizations. Your responsibility is security “in” the cloud. This actually takes half of the security equation out of your hands and gives it to a team of experts.

AWS only backs up data that is stored in the cloud at rest

You can’t always store all of your data in the cloud. Regulatory concerns, legal restrictions, or even application requirements may dictate that you store certain data on-premises. For situations like this, you can easily back up on-premises data to AWS, or even use them to augment existing on-premises solutions. For hybrid cloud environments, the AWS Storage Gateway allows you to easily work between local and cloud data for your backup solution. Of course, cloud-native data is easily backed up through traditional software or the use of versioning, snapshots, or cross-region replication.

AWS backup equals disaster recovery

While it is true that backups are an essential part of a disaster recovery plan, they are not all you need to implement.  Putting together a true, tested disaster recovery plan requires time, effort, and a level of expertise from your IT staff. Don’t assume that moving data to AWS will suffice as your entire disaster recovery effort.

I have an AWS backup solution, so I’m all good

Remember when Amazon told you that you are responsible for security “in” the cloud? Expand that to mean you are responsible for your actions “in” the cloud as well. In their service level agreement, Amazon clearly states that customers are in charge of their own backups.

They will provide you with the tools, solutions, and flexibility to put together a solid backup strategy, but you and your team are the ones responsible for planning and implementing it.

I can do it all myself

The truth is that AWS makes backup easier than it has ever been before with flexible storage options, good pricing, and other features. However, if you don’t plan and execute your implementation properly, you could find that your backup solution has failed you. If this happens at a time when you really need to restore that data, you could be in serious trouble.

Most organizations rely on specialists to help them best plan their backup/restore and disaster recovery processes. They turn to these partners because they know that they have years of experience and first-hand knowledge of how to successfully implement a backup plan and migrate the right data over to AWS.