How to avoid the common errors involved with Data Backups
Data is the foundation that your company runs on. That is why it is so essential that your files and systems don’t get lost, stolen or damaged. However, while most companies think that they have their data backed up, a recent study by Clutch found that 58% of SMEs are not prepared for data loss. What’s more, 60% of the companies that lose their data will shut down within six months.
Backing up your data is an easy solution to a problem that could otherwise result in restarting your business from scratch. Although most companies already have some sort of backup system in place, many are making common mistakes that can lead to substantial and irreversible data loss.
To help your business with Data Backup and ensuring the process is completed thoroughly and effectively, we have provided a best practice guide below on how to avoid common errors involved with Data Backups.
Best practices on how to avoid common errors involved with Data Backups.
1: Not Customising Your Backup to Your Business’ Unique Needs
Every business operates differently, yet many backup solutions are treated the same. You may find a backup service provider that gives you a generic, overarching solution, yet this could result in significant gaps or a poor fit. Allowing your system to be down for too long or to lose too much information could be detrimental for your business success, reputation and longevity.
Best Practice:
Evaluate your business’ specific needs and goals when it comes to information backup. Ask yourself what data is most critical to protect, how much data you can afford to lose in the event of a disaster, and how long you can afford for your system to be down in this event. Construct a solution around these individual recovery goals.
2: Not Focusing on Recovery
While backing up your data is essential for information protection, it is not actually the end goal of a good backup plan. Many companies spend too much energy focusing on the mechanics of backing up that they skim over the recovery plan. This means that when disaster does strike, companies are spending longer trying to figure out how to recover their data, resulting in extended down time in operations.
Best Practice:
Implement recovery testing as part of your backup plan. Set Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO), and frequently, at a minimum, annually, test your backup plan’s ability to meet them. Doing so will ensure that your backup solution won’t take hours, days or even weeks to restore your systems.
3: Only Backing Up Devices Owned by Your Company
Workplace mobility is at an all-time high, and BYOD (bring your own device) is becoming standard at companies across the globe. In fact, an IT risk survey report by Kaspersky found that 60% of a company’s files and data are stored exclusively on employee desktops and laptops. Yet many businesses are still only installing backup solutions for the devices that stay at their centralised office space. This means that if an employee’s mobile device is compromised, you could lose its individual storage of company data forever.
Best Practice:
Use a backup solution that is attached to the cloud. Having employees do all of their work on a cloud service will still allow them to use their own devices, yet it will also ensure that their data is stored over the Internet rather than on a physical desktop. You can then implement a backup solution for this entire system or application, which will in turn back up employees’ individual files.
4: Not Protecting Data Off-site
If you store your data on centralised hard drives in your office space, cyber-attacks may not be the only disaster scenario that you have to worry about. While they may be unlikely, a power surge, burglary or even flooding could ruin your data in an instant. This is the danger of keeping only one backup storage in one location.
Best Practice:
Follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy. With this strategy, you create three copies of your data – two sets are stored on-site on different mediums and one is stored off-site. To be most effective, this off-site solution should be through an online backup provider that can monitor your system and update it as needed. This way, one copy of your data will always be safe and accessible.
5: Confusing Syncs with Backups
As more and more businesses turn to cloud applications such as Google Drive and Dropbox to store their files, traditional forms of backing up are falling by the wayside. However, 37% of SMEs lose their data in the cloud, according to a Symantec report. This may be because they believe that syncing files onto a cloud application, or even just storing these files on the application, is equivalent to backing them up. These apps are designed to help you work on the same files from any device in any location; they are not designed specifically to back up these files.
Best Practice:
Implement a cloud-based backup service that is compatible with these workspaces. Check and see what is already backed up by the application (Dropbox, for example, lets you restore previous versions), then find a solution that covers the rest. Continue enjoying the ease of these apps while also having the ability to restore your files, just in case a mistake happens.
6: Forgetting to Verify Your Backups
No matter how you choose to backup your data, it is essential to verify that it is working properly. Drives, tapes and other media all have a shelf life. Online backup solutions may require periodic updates. However, many companies only verify their solution once during installation, and then continue to backup for months or years without checking it. This can lead to disaster if something is not working properly when an emergency occurs, resulting in loss or corruption of data.
Best Practice:
Set up a monthly schedule to verify that your backup solution is working as it should. Check that the time and the contents of your files are correct, that each backup is complete and that you can successfully restore the data from the latest backup.
Having an effective backup solution is essential to your business success. However, coupled with all of the other facets of your business, it can be easy to allow oversights to creep in to the process of protecting files and information when it comes to cybersecurity and data protection.
You don’t have to do it all on your own – Landmark Technologies are here to help.
We provide bespoke backup solutions that are customised specifically for the needs of your business. Our simple but thorough procedures automatically ensure that your data is safe, secure and saved. We also offer off-site solutions, both through an external facility and a cloud facility, so your data will still be there after any disaster.
Contact us today to understand how Landmark Technologies’ Cloud Computing products (BDR) can help you.
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