Data backup is a must-have for every business, but it isn’t enough to just copy your data. You will need to have a data recovery strategy to ensure that your business can effectively respond after a data loss incident. Today, we’ll take a look at why considering your recovery strategy early is important, and how to prioritize it with everything else going on with your business.
The “Disaster”
Every disaster doesn’t need to ruin your workplace. Sure, you might be the victim of an “act of God” like a fire or a flood, but the reality is that most of the time, if you lose data, it is the result of something a little more subtle. There’s nothing subtle about millions of gallons of water seeping up from the ground and overtaking your workspace, of course, but there is when a component on your seven-year-old server fails and you are left without all the data and applications that it hosts.
The point is that disasters come in all shapes and sizes, and if your business isn’t ready for every single one of them, chances are that it will be the one you aren’t ready for that you will be hit with. Let’s go through some of the considerations you will have to make when strategizing your data recovery platform and how recovery impacts businesses.
SMBs and Data Loss
It has been proven that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the companies hurt the most by data loss. Larger businesses typically have the means to build their data redundancy and the ability to recover this data when needed. Smaller companies don’t have that luxury, so it is important to realize just how important data backup and recovery are. 60 percent of SMBs will shut down within six months if they have a dramatic data loss incident. It is therefore a situation that needs immediate attention. Here are some tips to help you build a more robust backup and recovery strategy.
Recovery
Planning out data recovery is crucial. Without a backup plan in place, losing data without a recovery strategy could seriously disrupt business continuity. Consider utilizing a service like our BDR or relevant software to manage backup and recovery processes. Prioritize a strategy that ensures the quickest restoration of your business operations. A reliable backup plan is crucial to swiftly restore your business operations amid numerous computing threats.
Testing Backups
Not only should you concoct a consistent backup schedule, you should always test your backups to ensure that they are working properly. Nothing is worse for a small business than having to go through a data loss disaster and have a backup in place that wasn’t working for days or weeks. Be sure to log your tests so that any IT administrator can know when data was backed up and how to recover it.
3-2-1
The 3-2-1 rule is a policy that builds stable redundancy of a company’s data and computing assets. Essentially, the business keeps three copies of data, two of which are kept onsite, with one copy stored offsite. We suggest the offsite storage is stored in the cloud. Either way, having three copies of your data can go a long way toward building data security.
Leave Recovery to the Experts
There is a lot riding on your business’ data and trying to manage the situation yourself could end badly. The experts at VISTECH know the best practices of data recovery.
Data recovery may not be the most pressing strategy your business needs to focus on. However, it is important, and having experts assisting you is a great way to ensure data recovery is successful. VISTECH is here to help you make the most of all of your technology, productively and securely. Give us a call at 860.251.8003 to learn more about what we can do.
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