Migration from Google Workspace Enterprise to Backblaze B2, dropping Time Machine and adding Backblaze Personal for individual machines, restructured the backup strategy and dramatically reduced cloud usage. A network of RAID servers now backs each other, replacing excessive off-site cloud copies that accumulated to 60 terabytes. The previous strict 3-2-1 implementation resulted in unnecessary duplication and high costs after unlimited plans vanished. Strategic actions — reducing redundant cloud backups, consolidating providers, and leveraging local RAID replication — lowered annual expenses by more than $1,200 while accepting trade-offs in convenience and absolute redundancy.
60 terabytes. I'll never see that much cloud storage again. On one hand, I'm relieved. On the other, I'm deeply saddened. This is a story that began many chapters ago. It culminated with some serious self and infrastructure examination, a couple of hard conversations, and a few tough decisions. This is a story of online data hoarding in the guise of best practices, where too much became way too much, and the seemingly simple task of maintaining backups became an on-call emergency response second job.
TL;DR There's a lot to this story, but if you want a quick summary, it's this: I moved from Google Workspace Enterprise to Backblaze B2. I dropped Time Machine and added Backblaze Personal for individual machines. My network of RAID servers help back each other up, and by the time I was done, I saved well over a thousand dollars.
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