While Azure provides redundancy for virtual machines (VMs) by replicating them across multiple physical servers and storage devices, this redundancy does not guarantee protection against all types of data loss scenarios.

Here are some reasons why you still need to back up your VMs in Azure, even if they are redundant:

Protection against user error: Redundancy alone does not protect against accidental data deletion, corruption, or other user errors. Backups provide an additional layer of protection against these types of issues, allowing you to restore data to a previous point in time.

Protection against application or system failure: Redundancy does not protect against application or system failures that can cause data loss or corruption. Backups provide a way to recover from these types of failures, allowing you to restore your VMs to a known good state.

Compliance and regulatory requirements: Some industries or regulations require regular backups of data for compliance purposes. By backing up your VMs in Azure, you can meet these requirements and avoid potential penalties or legal issues.

Disaster recovery: In the event of a disaster, such as a natural disaster or cyber attack, backups can be used to recover data and restore operations. Redundancy alone may not be sufficient in these scenarios.

In summary, while redundancy is an important aspect of data protection in Azure, backups provide an additional layer of protection against data loss due to various reasons. It is recommended to have a comprehensive backup strategy in place to ensure your data is protected and can be restored in the event of a failure.