Cloud providers do not automatically back up data on their subscribers’ behalf. This shared-responsibility model means organizations must proactively decide how to protect their AWS-hosted data. Amazon offers a native solution — AWS Backup — while several third-party vendors such as Druva, N2WS, and Cloud Daddy also provide data protection for AWS environments. Choosing the right approach requires evaluating several key factors.
What Resources Can Be Protected?
The first question to ask about any backup solution is which AWS services it supports. AWS Backup covers several core services, including:
- Amazon DynamoDB — managed NoSQL database
- Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) — block storage for EC2 instances
- Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) — managed network file storage
- Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) — managed relational databases
- AWS Storage Gateway — a hybrid service that exposes iSCSI volumes to on-premises systems
Third-party tools may extend coverage to additional AWS services or offer more granular control over what gets backed up. Before selecting a solution, audit every AWS service your organization relies on and confirm that it is included in the product’s supported scope.
Application Consistency
AWS Backup relies on snapshots. For Windows workloads running on EC2, snapshots can leverage the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to produce application-consistent backups — meaning the backup captures a clean state that applications can reliably recover from. Organizations running non-Windows workloads should verify whether AWS Backup can deliver application-consistent backups for their specific stack, or whether a third-party agent-based solution would be a better fit.
Where Are Backups Stored?
AWS Backup stores data in backup vaults, which are encrypted using AWS Key Management Service (KMS) keys. A single AWS account can create up to 100 backup vaults, and each vault can hold up to one million recovery points. Vaults are straightforward to create and are well-integrated with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for access control.
The key limitation is that backup vaults reside entirely within the AWS cloud. This creates two potential risks:
- Account compromise: If an attacker gains access to an AWS account, backups stored within the same account could be at risk alongside primary data. AWS Organizations and cross-account backup copies can mitigate this, but they require deliberate configuration.
- Regional or cloud-level disruption: While a full AWS outage is rare, regional incidents do occur. Backups stored in the same region as the source data may be affected by the same event.
Many third-party backup vendors store data outside the AWS cloud entirely — for example, in a separate cloud provider’s object storage. This provides genuine separation between primary data and backups, which can strengthen your overall resilience posture. It may also reduce storage costs depending on what Amazon charges for backup vault storage versus alternative destinations.
Data Recovery: Speed, Flexibility, and Support
A backup strategy is only as good as its recovery process. AWS Backup has two notable advantages here:
- No data egress over the internet: Because backup data is stored within the AWS cloud, restore operations do not require transferring large datasets across the internet. This typically results in faster recovery times.
- Single-vendor support: When something goes wrong during a restore, having Amazon as both the cloud provider and the backup vendor means you deal with one support chain rather than coordinating between multiple vendors.
Third-party solutions can offer greater recovery flexibility. Some tools allow EC2 instances to be restored to alternative cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure — a valuable option for organizations that want multi-cloud resilience or are in the middle of a cloud migration. Third-party products may also provide more granular restore options, such as item-level recovery for databases or file-level restore from volume snapshots.
Integration With Your Existing Backup Infrastructure
A factor that is easy to overlook is operational overhead. If your organization already manages a backup platform for on-premises workloads, ask whether it also supports AWS environments. Introducing a completely separate backup tool for cloud data means additional consoles to monitor, separate reporting, and separate policies to maintain.
Some third-party vendors provide unified platforms that cover both on-premises and cloud workloads under a single interface. This can reduce complexity and make it easier to enforce consistent RPO and RTO targets across your entire environment. AWS Backup, by contrast, is AWS-specific and does not extend to on-premises infrastructure directly.
Key Decision Factors at a Glance
| Factor | AWS Backup | Third-Party Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Supported AWS services | Core services (EBS, RDS, EFS, DynamoDB, Storage Gateway) | Varies by vendor; often broader coverage |
| Application consistency | VSS for Windows; limited for others | Varies; agent-based tools often stronger here |
| Backup storage location | Within AWS (same or cross-account) | Can be outside AWS entirely |
| Recovery speed | Fast (no internet transfer) | Depends on storage location |
| Recovery flexibility | AWS-only restore targets | May support cross-cloud restore |
| Unified management | AWS-only workloads | May cover on-premises and multi-cloud |
| Support model | Single vendor (Amazon) | Requires coordination if issues arise |
Conclusion
AWS Backup is a solid, well-integrated choice for organizations that primarily run AWS workloads and value simplicity, fast in-cloud restores, and native service integration. It is most effective when paired with cross-account or cross-region backup copies to address the single-account risk.
Third-party solutions become more attractive when you need broader service coverage, application-consistent backups for non-Windows workloads, off-cloud storage for stronger isolation, cross-cloud recovery options, or a unified platform that spans on-premises and cloud environments.
There is no single correct answer — the right AWS backup strategy depends on your workload types, recovery objectives, risk tolerance, and existing tooling. Evaluate each option against those specific requirements before committing.