Use the 80/20 Rule to Save on Data Backup Costs

Backing up your company's data is critical when it comes to keeping operations going after a disaster. Data backup is an important operating expense that you can't afford to skip out on, but if you're looking to cut back on the cost of your data backup service, then you should consider the 80/20 Rule.

The 80/20 Rule Explained
The 80/20 Rule states that 20% of your data accounts for 80% of the value. Of course, every business is different and the 80/20 formula may not fit every organization exactly, but in general, the truth that a small amount of your information is crucial is true across the board.

If you do choose to backup your data using the 80/20 Rule, then you will have to take an assessment of your network to determine which files, applications, and servers are worth the most to you. In doing this, you will learn that just because a file isn't valued in the 80th percentile, doesn't mean it's worthless.

There's Value to Every File
The truth is that every single file on your company's network holds some sort of value. Useless files should be deleted; regular purging of these files from the network should be a maintenance task of the network administrator. The fact that a file has survived the purge and is sitting on your server speaks to its value because someone made this decision, "I better not delete this, just in case I need it."

The downside to the 80/20 Rule is that if a disaster strikes and 80% of your files are gone, then 80% of your files will never be available for that "just in case" scenario. The 80/20 Rule for data backup is a classic example of what's known in economics as an opportunity cost, because you will be saving money at the expense of putting the majority of your data, albeit not as valuable, at risk of data loss.

Making Choices by Assigning Value
On a practical level, the 80/20 Rule boils down to risk management, something you as a business owner are all too familiar with. Don't feel like you have to lock yourself into this 80/20 figure. If you're not feeling overly lucky about your data, or you would have a hard time coping if 80% of your data disappeared, then maybe you should back up more than 20%, something like 85/15 or 90/10.

By adjusting the backup formula to fit your risk tolerance level, you will be able to save money while having the data you lose in a disaster be an acceptable loss. Of course, you could always go with 100/100 and back up everything, which would be the easiest route because you wouldn't have to experience the adversity of assessing petabytes of data, but this will cost you more in operating expenses. Classic opportunity cost.

BDR is a Flexible and Affordable Backup Solution
Whatever backup ratio you decide to go with, Directive can backup your data with our secure Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution. Before you stress out about analyzing your network in order to determine which files will survive the disaster and which ones will die, ask us about what the price difference is between backing up 20% of your data versus backing up 100% of your data. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that backing up all of your data with BDR is not too much more costly than only backing up a portion.

Call Directive at 607.433.2200 to learn more about backing up your data with BDR. Our technology solutions will make your technology work for you, causing your business to grow, which will in turn cause our business to grow, 100/100!