Data Backup isn’t as Simple as You May Think

The protection of your business includes many facets. Physical security, training, and network security get most of the attention (and rightfully so), but does your business have a plan in place if those strategies fail? For the growing business, understanding that your data is an asset doesn’t have to come after you lose some. If your management team prides itself on taking proactive measures to keep business running smoothly, one element that has to be on the table is the practice of data backup and recovery.

 Most small businesses do all they can to compete with larger companies. Some can, some can’t. There’s only one certainty, problems that other businesses have dealt with have to be considered before they cause problems for your business. Since data backup is a pretty straightforward process, you’d think that you could buy a backup system, set it, and if something goes wrong and your organization loses data, the data will be protected. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. To properly protect your business, you’ll need a plan in place to preserve, and if need be, fully restore your data. Here are four important considerations you should make when dealing with data protection.

Firewalls
Your firewalls, both hardware and software, are there for a reason: to safeguard your business. They keep threats from entering your network. Be cognizant of the presence and status of your firewalls, and remember that they need to be monitored and maintained like any other piece of your network infrastructure.

Antivirus
One major reason backups need to be accessed in the first place is when files get corrupted by malware. Your backup strategy has to start here. If you don’t have a centrally managed antivirus in place, it is important that you get one. Creating reasonable procedures to ensure that your backup system is your last measure is as important as having data backup in the first place.

Backup Trials
The thought behind your backup and recovery system must be more than just taking for granted the system will work on command. You wouldn’t put in a new accounting system for your business without knowing whether it is going to work for you or not. The same can be said about your backup and recovery system. Test your backups frequently to ensure that the system is working in the manner you need it to, because if a real-world data loss situation were to present itself, you wouldn’t want to depend on a system that is in place, but not functional. Again, test your backup!

Leverage Automation
By automating your backup system, you remove the risk and uncertainty of depending on people. People make a business run, but how many times during the course of business has something not got done when it was supposed to get done? Business owners and managers that understand that data can be lost as a result of human error, have to understand that backups can be neglected for the same reason. With automation, backups run at specific times to collect predefined information, and mitigate the downtime that is often prevalent with some backup solutions.

Your backup and recovery strategy has to be more than just your backup system. It should include understanding how to eliminate data loss, protect your systems from harm, and that redundancy is there as a last resort. For more information about backup, recovery, automation, and network security, call us today at 607.433.2200.