Do you know the difference between business continuity and traditional forms of data backup?
How important is it to you that your business does not lose valuable downtime and is able to be back up and running as soon as possible? If this is vital to you, then you should have a very solid business continuity plan in place. In the meantime, here are some tips to help you improve your backup plan as you phase to a more solid business continuity plan.
Think Quicker Recovery Time, Not Quicker Backup – While incremental backups are much faster than executing a full backup, they also prolong recovery time. In the event of data loss, a full restore will require loading the most recent full backup and then each incremental backup. Having too many incremental backup files not only adds time to this restoration process, but it also increases the probability of not recovering all of your data. Files could be lost, unintentionally skipped over, or contain corrupted data. Be sure to focus on optimizing the restore time to ensure faster data recovery. A quicker recovery time should be the main objective, not the need for a quicker backup process.
Don’t Forget About Applications – Don’t overlook applications that are critical to day-to-day business operations . Many companies fail to back up applications, only to realize when it’s too late that they don’t have access to the original installation discs when they’re trying to recover from data loss or an outage. This is why business continuity is so vital.
Have Off-Site and Online Backup – Some businesses back up data simply by moving essential files to external hard drives that are then stored somewhere onsite. But if they’re kept onsite, what happens if a fire, flood or other natural disaster takes out not just your server but your backup drives? Onsite backups can also be susceptible to theft. Having secure off-site and online backup, is simply the smart thing to do to ensure quick recovery when trouble comes to town.
Fix Broken Access Controls on Your File Server – Many businesses have folders with confidential data residing on a file server with overly permissive access controls. Why take the risk of having a disgruntled – even former – employee access and misuse this data when access can be limited to only those in the company who need it?
Invest in Cybersecurity Prevention, Training, and Monitoring – Cybersecurity is a very real threat and can be the cause of the total loss of your business’s data. Rent-A-Nerd, Inc. has a variety of tools at our disposal to help your business prevent an attack; we train your employees to spot phishing emails (and more), we also can monitor your domain for breaches. Preventing data loss through cybersecurity is less expensive than you might think, and much cheaper than the costs associated if you become victim.
Be Sure to Test Restores – It happens time and time again. Business owners think they have a data backup plan in place. However, it turns out the backups haven’t been working for months, sometimes even years, right at the very moment they’re needed. Either the backups had become corrupt and useless or large segments of data were not being backed up. This happens often. Don’t let it happen to you.
Rent-A-Nerd, Inc. is committed to providing you with options to suit your business’s budget and needs, from a full-fledged business continuity plan to various forms of traditional back up. Call us today to discuss your options. 504-301-1094
