A way of storing data online using servers rather than using a hard drive, disc, or tape backup. Its common to use online data storage as well as having a physical back up for sensitive information.

Online data is the way that banks, medical institutions, online businesses, and many other agencies handle their information. The benefit of online data is that it is secure in a server far away. If your building burns to the ground, your information is safe. If a tsunami eliminates your metro, your information is most likely in another metro which hopefully is safe. Dallas, TX is a popular place for companies to have facilities to hold servers. Dallas is in an area that does not have earthquakes, and will not be directly effected by tsunamis or floods either. Your data is safer there than anywhere else in the world.

Another benefit of online data is that you can save it on two servers. You could have your main server hosted by a company in Dallas, and have backup in Illinois.

An additional benefit to online data is convenience. Online data can be entered or retrieved by any person who has access to the internet in any country of the world. You could be in antarctica on a business trip, and you could query your database to find out the average height of penguins.

Backup is a serious issue with online databases. There is always a paranoia that your data could be wiped out. Physical buildings can also easily be wiped out by natural disasters, so online data is not more dangerous. But additional backup is always recommended. Having physical backup is a good idea too. However, if you have large quantities of physical backup, it can not stay up to date, and the cost of re-entering that data would be astronomical.