Choose the right data backup solution for your business
Data backups are awesome. When done right, you could experience a fire, see it extinguished by a flood, and still have all your data back in its place before you need it.
However, most new clients that we meet don’t have good backups. There are a lot of options when it comes to data backup services, but not all of these services should be relied on by a business. For instance, periodically backing up a static copy of your data is not a good option if you can only afford short periods of downtime.
Likewise, services like Carbonite and Mozy can take 1-3 weeks to restore your business’ data completely (and that estimate assumes that you can order a new server and locate all of your install discs). If a downtime longer than a day (or even just a few hours) would threaten your business’ survival, you need to make sure your backup is ready for anything. Over 90% of the backups that we review for new clients aren’t.
Below are three important things you should know as you begin to craft your backup strategy.
- Determine what your “recovery point objective” (RPO) needs to be. This is the frequency at which you back up your data.
- You also need to consider how quickly you need your data to be restored. This is what we call the “recovery time objective” (RTO).
- Finally, you should assess your budget. It’s a good idea to perform a risk-reward analysis to determine how much of your budget can be dedicated to a backup solution. Our free backup calculator can help with this.
The key for a solid backup plan is to understand exactly what data and processes are most vital to your business, and prepare a reliable way to restore them. Put a data backup and disaster recovery solution in place now, before catastrophe strikes.
If you would like to learn more about backup theory, there is a graphic in our February newsletter that helps illustrate the concepts discussed here. You’ll also find info about:
- How to stay secure while on public Wi-Fi
- A business owners guide to IT services and fees
- How to grow star performers at work, and more
