Backups are done for the very purpose of Restoring the data. Data loss may result because of a system failure, Natural disaster , man made disaster or a cyber attack like Ransomeware.

It enables you to do granular recovery of your data. Meaning you may restore a single file or folder which was lost.  In case of complete loss of a machine,  Bare Metal Restore on a dissimilar hardware too can be done easily. This capability of a backup software also makes it very useful for hardware upgrades, when an organisation requires to replace the 'End of Life' machines with new ones. 

Desktop and Laptop backups have become equally important like server backups as user generated data is also important for the organisation. In case of a lost Laptop the complete system can be restored on a dissimilar hardware with OS, Applications & Data. This reduces the downtime and magnitude of loss.

Robust backup solution can help fight Ransomware. As an organisation can restore the version of backup which was uninfected before the ransomeware encrypted the files. In fact Backup is looked upon as the only reliable answer to Ransomware attacks. Backups can help in such scenarios more if the 3-2-1 rule is followed.

3-2-1 Rule of Backup : you  must have 3 copies of your data (one primary), on 2 different media types (HDDs & Tape)  and 1 copy should be kept off site on a different location. The different media and different location can be the Cloud.  Any good backup software can point your backup copies to Cloud. The offsite copy should not be on the network and should not be accessible from users machines. This prevents proliferation of Ransomware program to the backup sets.

RAID : Is indispensable but RAID is NOT a substitute for backup!  RAID 1 success rate has been 30% only during the last decade. 

Copying data manually to external HDDs or DVDs : may not be a good idea,  as when it comes to restore the data from such a manual backup,  it is cumbersome and might not work. Discovery of data for restore itself becomes very difficult. System restore in case of complete loss of a server or Desktop/Laptop cannot be done with such backups.

Recovering a server used to take longer time like several hours. But now with technology which is ever improving,  a server can be recovered in a few  Minutes ! 

Backup Software licensing is either perpetual or yearly subscription. Licenses are available as unlimited servers &  laptop/ desktop bundles, or can be bought as per requirement. Even a single license for backing up a desktop can be bought.