When your company's operations are down, backing up your data is critical to saving money and time. Given the vast amounts of data that your data and file stores hold daily, you need a reliable backup method. A reliable backup gives you the peace of mind that all of your private contact lists, leads, and sales are available, even as a backup, whenever you need them.
That is unless it was not properly configured or tested. Unfortunately, the backup of your data may not have taken place as planned, and you may be unaware of it.
What is Storage, Disaster and Recovery, and Disaster Recovery Plan?
- Storage is the process by which digital data is stored inside a data storage device using computing technology. Storage is a mechanism that allows a computer to keep data, whether temporarily or permanently. Cloud storage is a cloud computing model in which information is stored on web servers (often from a third-party provider) that are accessed via the Internet, or "cloud."
- Recovery and backup relate to backing up information in case of loss and establishing systems that enable data recovery in the event of data loss. Backing up data entails copying and archiving computer data so that it can be accessed in the event of data loss or corruption. Data from a previous period can only be managed to recover when it has been backed up. Data backup is a type of disaster recovery that should be included in any disaster recovery strategy.
- Disaster recovery planning is a subset of business continuity planning that addresses aspects of an organization that depends on an IT infrastructure. The overarching goal is to devise a strategy that will enable the IT department to restore enough data and system functionality for a business or organization to continue operations.
Common Data Backup Mistakes
The following is a list of the most common data backup wrong decisions that businesses make:
- No backup
This is the most obvious, yet simplest, error to correct. You are not alone if you do not have any kind of backup. According to the Ponemon Institute, 39% of small and medium-sized businesses do not have this covered. Disasters of any kind, whether they are caused by simple human error, natural disasters, or ransomware attacks, will have an impact on your business in some way. It is impossible to predict how or when a disaster will occur. Fortunately, there is a way to mitigate the negative effects. The first step is setting up some backup.
- No Frequent Backup
This is among the most common backup mistakes. They believe that backing up every month, or even weekly is adequate. However, most businesses should be backing up at least daily. Backup frequency is determined by how frequently your data changes, i.e. the nature of your business. Daily backups may be sufficient if you have a large amount of static data that does not change frequently. However, if you have dynamic data that is constantly changing, your company must back up multiple times per day.
- Neglecting Mobile Devices
People have been accessing their photographs saved in the cloud from a variety of devices as the world has gone mobile. We frequently consider antivirus software and other security measures for our computers, but not so much for our smartphones and tablets. As a result, they are much more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Hackers are also focusing more on mobile devices and how to circumvent their security these days. If you want to use a tablet or a smartphone, you must use a mobile-friendly and practical method of backing up and accessing your photographs.
- Using Only Physical Storage
Because physical storage is the only type that is tangible and visible, it may appear to be the most reliable backup system. Fires and flooding are possibilities. Other storage, such as cloud storage, is intangible, giving its users an advantage by resisting physical disasters.
Another method of protecting physical storage is to keep a copy of the data offsite. Having all of your backed-up data in one location makes it more vulnerable to on-site disasters, whether physical or digital and can easily cause downtime for your team.
- Avoiding Automation Features
Cloud and off-site storage are two types of data storage with an automatic backup feature. This feature is available to effectively back up data. These automation features allow you and your staff to focus on essential activities while the software handles the backup.
- Ignoring Your Other Offices
Your company's data does not usually exist solely within the four walls of your company's building; it can also exist in your and your team's other offices, including your and your team's and your own home; this is especially true for those who telecommute. The more dispersed your data is, the more vulnerable it is to attack. According to Varonis' 2019 Global Data Risk Report, 22% of all folders used by a company are accessible to everyone. To put this statistic into context, if 80% of companies have more than one million folders, then 50,000 of those folders are open to the public.
- Separation Of Archives
An archive is not the same as a backup. Your backup should be of the work you're currently working on, which could include photos you're still editing, client invoices that need to be settled, or any other work in progress. An archive is a place where you keep old photographs that you have finished but want to keep for posterity.
The reason for the distinction is that your backup must be easily accessible, whereas your archive does not. An archive is a collection of old work that you want to keep and refer to at some point. A backup is a safeguard that protects you if your computer crashes and you lose the work you're doing. Your backup should be easily accessible so you can return to work almost immediately.
- Backups for Backups
Since backups are so essential, you should design your backup architecture to avoid (as much as possible) having a single point of failure. Make a backup of your backups if possible. You never want to be in a situation where you didn't back up the night previously and are just hoping the server doesn't fail that day because you have nothing to rely on.
- No Verified Backups
It is one thing to back up your data; it is quite another to ensure that it is properly backed up. Before deleting the original copy, ensure that the data has been backed up. You can even go the extra mile by downloading a copy of your data from backup storage to ensure it is usable. That way, you can be confident that your backed-up data is usable and ready to be downloaded when needed.
Sun IT Solutions Managed IT service has been providing high-quality IT solutions Toronto and support services that meet the needs and budgets of our Toronto clients since 2007.
We're committed to delivering long-term business value and tangible results, and we hope to do the same for you.