Why do you need an online data backup plan?

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Why do you need an online data backup plan?

Whether it is accidental or deliberate, data loss is a problem that’s far more serious than it can first seem. Data is the heart and soul of enterprises, and must be protected at any cost. Having proper processes in place to guard stored data against routine risks is a crucial matter for businesses. However, even if you have proper data backup mechanisms, you can’t be sure that your data will be easily recovered in a crisis unless you have a definitive backup and recovery plan in place.

Day-to-day data loss risks

One of the major pain points in data storage is accidental data loss. There can be a number of causes behind it, risks that are always lurking and that you have little control over. The day-to-day risks can be:

  • File corruption
  • Accidental file deletion
  • System failures
  • Human errors
  • Natural disasters
  • Hacks

These incidents are not trivial and can have a huge impact on daily business operations. These risks can occur at any unexpected moment, and if your data has not been backed up either offsite or online, you can be in great trouble. It’s important to consider different kinds of backup mediums for better safety and security of data.

Taking measures to lower the risk of serious data disasters

While critical incidents that result in major data loss might not be a daily affair, they only need to happen once to cause a massive disaster. Things like server failure or a malicious attack on your data can happen at any time. Hardware failure is almost inevitable at some stage as well. You might have an issue with an employee, who corrupts data on purpose, and natural disasters are yet another risk. Are these reasons not enough for having a data backup plan?

Your business risk tolerance

What’s the risk tolerance of your business? Have you ever felt the need to identify it? If not, it is time to do so. Once you’ve determined what your risk tolerance level is, you can then create an acceptable risk assessment. This then informs the kinds of technology you need to use for data backup and protection. If you have proper backup and recovery plans in place, it will be easier to recover data in crisis situations.

Make data recovery a knowable event

Vital data should be backed up multiple times, to multiple devices in multiple locations. This can help keep critical data secure, and automatically backed up according to requirements. It can ensure that any data loss becomes a “knowable” event in terms of how backed up data can be accessed, and the time it will take to restore.

Figuring out what specific data needs to be backed up, and how much cost and time it would take, informs your plan. Any privacy and legal requirements need to be kept in mind as well. Businesses in some domains have specific data retention and encryption requirements that need to be adhered to, and this will of course have to be taken into account in the plan.

When you have a clear-cut plan for backing up your data, then you have methodology and best practices to follow.

Earn more confident customers

A secure data backup plan can also be an additional selling point for your business. An online backup solution adds value for your customers. It reduces the risk that they’ll be seriously affected in the event of a data loss, because your critical operations can be restored quickly. This can attract customers to your business, as they are more confident about your service.

Having the right data backup solution in place for your business is essential. When you have a distinct plan to backup your business data, it can positively impact on your business and customers, and ultimately your bottom line!

Backing Up Versus Archiving of Data

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Backing Up Versus Archiving of Data

Although the concepts sound similar, archiving and backing up data are two different processes. The key difference between them is that system and data back ups are aimed at swift operational recovery. Data archiving is not meant to be fast nor iterative. It’s there for historical reference, or as background material, and also needs to be backed up in turn. Here are a few of the differences between the processes, and some considerations for using them in your business.

Backing up of data

Important things to consider when backing up data include:

  • Point of recovery

You should determine your business’s point of recovery (POR) as part of your data recovery policy. This draws a line in the sand about the stage at which files must be recovered for normal operations to resume. This then gives a place for recovery start up if there’s been a disaster or outage.

  • Metadata helps with recovery

Live operational data must have coherent metadata attached. This helps in terms of recovery and searchability. The data itself may change quite frequently, as may the data types. The metadata allows a fluid, dynamic recovery, and can bring back folders and files to their original state after a disaster. Using quality commercial backup software helps maintain metadata references and quality timestamp information, and provides a framework from which to manage a recovery. 

  • Restore time objectives

It’s imperative for a business to have accurate restore time objectives through an automated system. Business operations are dependent on a swift recovery of live data. In the event of a disaster, archival material is usually less crucial.

  • Backup frequency

Live and operational data will most likely be backed up far more often than archival data. You’ll need to tailor a back up frequency plan to your business needs. It may be that some data can be backed up less regularly than other data, depending on the usage. 

Archiving of data

Important things to consider when archiving include:

  • Historical use

While archived material can seem “stale” or dated, it can still have an important role to play in providing past data or a snapshot of the business at a particular point in time. Some historical data may also need to be kept to comply with legal requirements. Therefore archived material must, by its nature, be unchanging and unmoving. So its storage location should always be the same, in contrast to live operational data, which can move depending on the specifications of the system.

  • Accessibility

Finding historical files or documents is crucial when archiving data, so searchability is a key component, even more so than for live data recovery. The nature of old data means that much of it won’t be compatible with current operating systems, or it will all be in different formats. This makes it very difficult to capture metadata. In fact, many older formats (for instance images from the 1990s) won’t even have metadata. It’s quite likely you’ll need a customised automated system that is tailored to your particular archival data needs.

The need for multiple back ups

Finally, it’s important to remember that a single back up isn’t sufficient for either archived material or live data. While archived data can be kept on a separate single storage device, it’s also worth using an online or cloud based system for archival snapshots. A good rule of thumb is that the most critical, valuable data to your business should be backed up three times. And remember that two separate folders on the same network do not count as safe, multiple back ups!