Disaster Recovery & Backup Solutions – When Was The Last Time You Tested Yours?
New business owners have a lot of worries to keep them tossing and turning at night into the wee hours. One technology ‘what if’ is the loss of critical data to a server crash, virus, hard drive failure or a larger mishap such as a fire or flood.
Even though the threat of data loss is quite apparent to many business owners sorting out a disaster recovery plan are often very low down on the list despite its importance. Sadly effective data backup protocols are often ignored even though at the lowest level important documents could be backed up onto a pen drive or USB memory stick.
Sure, even memory sticks fail but at least USB memory recovery is a viable option as a simple form of data backup
Even if you do not have the time or budget to put in place a decent data backup regime simply copying essential data to an external hard drive is surely better than a lack of any sort of policy, of course the crucial element in an back up procedure is just that , it is a procedure and should be adhered to……regulary!
Then there is the important job of making sure that you can recovery your data easily from your backup as there is little point in having a system in place only to find that it does not work when you need it most.
With this in mind it will be far more cost effective to test your backup up before a disaster rather than finding out you cannot recovery from it and requiring a data recovery. As well as this meaning that your systems will be down for a few days it will also cost you hundreds if not thousands.
Sadly for many businesses back up protocols will be left as a low priority until an actual data loss occurs and backup, just like an insurance policy is there for when you need it even though most of the time you do not.
There are other backup options available. Internet based or off-site backup is one popular option however data recovery from this method can be time consuming as you would have to download all your data.
Another option which is relatively new is an automatic real time backup using the internet. This consists of a program running in the background backing up data as you are working. This means you do not have to remember to backup up at regular intervals as it does it all for you once it is set up.
Online data backup is becoming a very favourable option for savvy IT professionals.
Another benefit for this is if your computer/laptop gets stolen you will have a backup of all your data.
It is not really important which of these options you choose to implement into your business just as long as you have a backup in place.
And of course an effective backup policy is far less costly than the costs of disaster recovery and data recovery .
Disaster Recovery Plans – Does Your Business Have One?
Many businesses risk grave losses due to failures and disasters yet continue to depend on un-validated tape backups should they need to recover from a major outage. Implementing a disaster recovery plan can be time consuming and daunting; to the point which many simply put it off.
Through some basic steps, businesses can better protect themselves against catastrophic data loss, these steps include:
- · Why do I need a Disaster Recovery Plan (DR) plan?
- · Defining and planning
- · Implementation
- · Testing
There are numerous disasters that could befall any business at any time in reality, and most of these will be unforeseen, the UK has in recent times suffered from unprecedented floods and in the US ice storms and power failures are the most recent issues, all the more reason for ensuring you have a disaster recovery plan of some description ready to roll out.
One of the most important aspects of a disaster recovery program is to ascertain what are the critical elements of your business. This will vary from business to business so for some it could be to ensure that data subject to long term availability due to legislation is always protected and for others it could be that the value of the business is held in the company CRM database. Whatever the case make sure your DR plan encompasses your most valuable assets at the very least.
Another important aspect of your plan should be that the business downtime should be a short as possible, an hour lost in a small business with a few employees can be manageable but if you have hundreds of employees then even an hour downtime is equivalent to weeks of lost work cumilitavely.
Remote data backup is a useful tool to have in your disaster recovery portfolio. Many companies will have data and tape back up data stored on company premises. In the event of a major catastrophe such as a fire all company data could be lost. Utilising offsite remote data backup ensure that data is still safe and could even be accessed from another location if required.
No two companies are the same; it pays to plan your implementation. A documented project plan can help with your disaster recovery procedures, A project plan allows it to be broken down into more manageable chunks. With proper planning you can avoid some of the pitfalls and ensure nothing in left unaccounted for and will prevent having to go back.
And last but not least test test test! Sadly numerous stories abound of companies that have set up a DR plan of sorts then simply assumed it would work. You need to ensure your plan is robust and tested on a regular basis to ensure key personnel are practiced in its implementation.
Disaster recovery planning, data recovery service and online data backup protocols should be in place for every business that has critical business data and systems. Don’t wait until it is to late and disaster has already struck.