Your data is the lifeblood of your business, so it's important to ensure it's not suddenly erased or fallen into the wrong hands. Power failures, floods, earthquakes, and even cyberattacks can immediately impact operations, and they can also have a long-term effect on your profits, reputation, and employee morale. That’s why your company should have backups ready all the time.
Now when we say backup, it doesn’t just mean copying all of your files into a flash drive or an external drive and eventually forgetting all about it. Take the time to establish an effective backup plan that will meet the needs of your business. Here are some of the best practices you can implement to create a successful backup strategy:
Make triplicate copies of your data
Yes, you read that right — there must be three copies of your data. The first copy is the original version you’re actively using at work. The second one should be kept on-site, and the third copy is your off-site backup that’s usually hosted on the cloud.
Why do you need two backup copies? One reason points to the importance of redundancy. Let’s say your on-site copy becomes unavailable due to data corruption or a similar reason. Given this situation, your second backup becomes useful.
Another compelling reason to have two copies is data recovery. With your on-site copy, you can restore data immediately because you have physical access to the files. You can also restore from an off-site copy, but this should just be used only in extreme situations such as when a fire or flood destroys your original and on-site copies.
Also, if ever ransomware holds your files hostage for huge sums of money, off-site backups are useful. Having disconnected copies of your data will ensure that even if you don’t pay the ransom, you still have your files safe and in one piece.
Choose your backup weapon
An important part of planning your backup strategy is to choose the media to use, both for on-site and off-site backups. Here are some options for small businesses:
- Tape backups
Tape backups are one of the most reliable and inexpensive backup methods your business can turn to. Once your files are backed up and the tape is disconnected from your drive, the data becomes safe from cyberattacks such as ransomware.
This media, however, isn’t made for data that is often updated. After a backup has been created, newer data cannot be saved onto it anymore, leaving them unprotected and vulnerable to disasters.
- Portable hard drives
Another handy backup medium is the portable hard disk drive. It offers better transfer speeds and higher storage capacity than tape backups, but it is more expensive and fragile. This makes hard drives less preferred by small businesses.
- Continuous data protection (CDP)
CDP is a storage system wherein all the data in your company is backed up whenever any change is made. The feature creates an electronic journal of storage snapshots, which contains every instance of data modification. This technology might be expensive and more complex than hard drives and tape backups, but its automatic backup feature can be useful for some businesses.
- Cloud backup
This is an off-site backup service that allows a business to run and store a backup in a certain vendor’s cloud infrastructure. Let’s say your enterprise’s data center was damaged during a fire. At this point, your on-site servers are destroyed. However, by hosting your backups on the internet, your data will always remain intact.
What’s more, the cloud is scalable and can easily be adjusted according to your needs. You can add storage space whenever needed and instantly remove it if you don’t need it anymore. With the cloud, data shutdown is virtually impossible.
However, this option can be tricky for some firms, as slow internet connections can hamper data backup. And subscribing to a faster internet connection plan isn’t exactly a walk in the park either, as this would cost a lot of money.
Alternatively, businesses can hire a cloud service provider like USWired that does all the work and ensures 24/7/365 data safety for a much more affordable price.
Remember that the safety of your data is non-negotiable, so never hesitate to tailor your plan according to your budget and your needs. From there, strike a balance so neither gets compromised. Ultimately, what you’ll invest in your backup strategy will eventually pay off, at least when done right and the best practices are applied.
Don’t risk losing your data to hackers, employee theft, system failures, or disasters. Our extensive range of backup and disaster recovery solutions will ensure your data is always safe and accessible anytime you need it. Call us today to know more.
