Will it happen tomorrow, or next week? In six months, or a year from now? Eventually it will happen - your business will experience data loss from single computer or sever. The real question is, are you prepared for this? American Data Recovery says:
- In the United States, businesses lose over $12 billion a year from data loss.
- 60% of companies that lose data shut down within six months.
- 78% of this data loss is from hardware and system failure.
- 11% is from human error.
Businesses know that they have to backup their important data, but they are frequently unaware that bad maintenance and configuration, or incomplete policies and procedures can measure up to huge expense. Here are four important points that businesses should consider when backing up and recovering data:
What Needs to be Backed Up?
Companies should begin with their most critical information. Usually, this includes accounting and finance data, production and manufacturing, clients and prospects, human resources, email, drawings and artwork. Many companies neglect information stored on laptops or desktop computers. You will have to find out what data your company needs to back up by asking, "What information is needed to get everything back up and operating in the least amount of time after a disaster?"
Which Kind of Backup for Which Kind of Data?
There are many options for backing up data and retrieving it from servers and desktop computers. The backup system you choose should depend on the kind of data that you're backing up. If the info rarely changes, as in artwork and schematics, archiving to CD or DVD may be the best idea. For information that changes frequently, such as Word documents, spreadsheets, and email, tape backup could be a better solution. Tape backups allow both incremental and full backups. This lets gradual data retrieval occur in a particular date range. Removable media such as Zip drives are best left for laptop and desktop computers. The key - backup must be automatically scheduled or it just won't happen.
Verify, Test and Restore the Backup
Often the most overlooked element of the process is testing and verifying data, usually omitted because of the cost associated. You will find some good practices for backup solutions below:
- Weekly. Don't simply review the backup logs; use a restore view to examine a 'backup and verify' file list.
- Quarterly. Start with the most recent tape, and test your restoration efforts. Take a look at several kinds of files: an Excel spreadsheet, Word files, and the administrator's mailbox. Select different dates for each file you restore.
- Annually. Make sure your system is fool-proof by doing a complete system restore onto a blank server or hard drive.
How Does a Company Avoid a Recovery Disaster?
Take a look at some of the situations to avoid if you are put in the situation of having to recover data:
- Older tapes get stretched and don't write data cleanly.
- Tapes are stored on-site, at the business.
- No access to a compatible tape drive, hard drive, and cables, when the tape drive is totally destroyed.
A company's backup plan needs to be a part of a greater disaster recovery and business continuity plan.
About the Author
Nick Pegley is VP Marketing for All Covered: Technology Services Partner for Small Business, providing local disaster recovery consulting and technology services in 20 major U.S. metro areas.
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