Backup vs Archive
What a definition is not
A definition is SPEQ’s plain-language decode of how a term is used in practice, cited to the documents that define it. It is a practitioner reference, not legal or regulatory advice, it does not replace the definition in the source, and where a regulator’s wording differs the regulator’s wording governs.
A backup is a copy of current data made for disaster recovery — to restore operations if data is lost or corrupted — and is typically overwritten on a rolling schedule. An archive is the long-term, secure, independent retention of records for their required retention period, protected against alteration or deletion. They serve different purposes and are not interchangeable.
Confusing the two is a recognized data-integrity failure: relying on rolling backups for long-term retention means records can be lost when the backup cycle overwrites them, and backups usually lack the immutability and controlled retrieval an archive requires.
An archive must keep records readable and retrievable for the full retention period, which can outlive the originating system — often requiring validated migration or a maintained archival platform, plus periodic restore/read tests to prove the records are still recoverable.
- —Backup = disaster recovery, rolling/overwritten.
- —Archive = long-term, secure, immutable retention.
- —Backups are not a substitute for an archive.
- —Archived records must stay readable for the full retention period.
EU GMP Annex 11 §7 (data storage) and §17 (archiving); MHRA GXP Data Integrity Guidance (2018).
Frequently asked questions
What is Backup vs Archive?
A backup is a copy of current data made for disaster recovery — to restore operations if data is lost or corrupted — and is typically overwritten on a rolling schedule. An archive is the long-term, secure, independent retention of records for their required retention period, protected against alteration or deletion. They serve different purposes and are not interchangeable.
Which regulations cover Backup vs Archive?
EU GMP Annex 11 §7 (data storage) and §17 (archiving); MHRA GXP Data Integrity Guidance (2018).