Remember last year’s floods that turned some of our Detroit-area freeways into actual lakes? The unexpected floods of 2014 submerged streets, cars, basements – and some businesses, particularly those that weren’t prepared for the possibility. Some have never recovered.

Well, as the Eurythmics sang, here comes the rain again. Spring is in the air – and so is the possibility of more torrential rains. Unfortunately, most of us don’t receive a sign from above to build an ark and keep two of everything on it when deluges or other disasters are looming ahead.

It’s not literally true that “anything can happen,” but it sometimes seems that way – especially when random chaotic events disrupt our routines and our lives. The 2014 floods were a wake-up call to many businesses who suddenly started looking into flood insurance. A lot of the savvy ones started thinking about offsite data backup solutions as well.

In recent times we’ve gotten more and more inquiries about our backup programs. Companies have learned through experience that old methods like backup to tape or to on-site devices really aren’t enough to protect them from data loss when catastrophic events happen: A flood or fire isn’t going to show any more mercy to our backup system than it does to the rest of your IT infrastructure.

That’s why cloud-based backup solutions – Backup as a Service, or BaaS – are becoming more and more popular. Low storage costs and faster internet connections make it possible to maintain complete, regularly-updated copies of a company’s entire data footprint safely off site – and without the expense or the daily hassle of running tapes to be picked up and warehoused by third party vendors.

It’s easy to see the value BaaS provides. In the event of fire, flood or other catastrophic events, companies can quickly access their vital records, databases and correspondence, and take steps to maintain operations at a temporary location. For most, it can make all the difference between staying in business or not: Access to billing, receivables, or payroll data alone can be a make-or-break survival factor.

A lot of companies now find that the integrity and affordability of cloud backup makes it an offer they can’t refuse. The benefits of having BaaS – and the risks of going without it – are just too great, particularly for regulated industries like financial, health care, or professional employer organizations. Fires, floods, and tornadoes aren’t everyday occurrences for most of us, thankfully – but every day they’re happening somewhere. Companies armed with a solid BaaS solution rest easier knowing that if the unthinkable does happen to them, they’ll be among the first to bounce back quickly.