Murphy’s Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and although a rather bleak statement of how the world works, you need to subscribe to that philosophy if you want to protect your business data and online assets. You should always prepare for the worst, not best case scenario, that way you avoid nasty surprises. Every business needs a backup solution whatever the nature of operations. The system should be tailored to your business and customised to your specific needs. There are so many valid reasons to invest in a capable backup solution that it would be almost criminal not to do so, in the modern business world where so many assets are online.
What can you gain from backing up?
Determining your exact backup needs is the first thing you should do. Before implementing any system, you need to decide exactly what you want out of it. That way you will narrow down your options until the most helpful ones remain. Make sure not to sell your own needs short, or you will end up implementing half-baked plans. The solutions you select now will need to work further along down the road later, and your business’s future is worth a lot more than a rushed, cheap solution. The industry you operates in will go a long way into helping you determine the exact solution for your own business. If you operate in a fast-growing industry, then you will likely need a backup solution that is able to rapidly restore large amounts of data swiftly, regardless of the format of the file. Relevant information should be prioritised with specific solutions quickly, irrespective of the file format. If you have particularly essential data, you should make an effort to prioritise its safety with a specialised solution, and you should also consider a system that deals effectively with online threats, malicious attacks, and other vulnerabilities that may hamper your business’s ability to restore that data. Put together a detailed list of security, usability, and also reliability standards you would like your organisation to benefit from with a backup solution.
Decide on your Budget
After you have determined your needs, it’s time to consider your budget. You are now sure that you will be looking at only the best options and solutions that fit your personal, specific needs. Depending on your particular solution, you should be considering a variety of different options with various price structures. You may have to factor in some employee training, and a solution that isn’t automatic should be run by your employees. Never give in to the temptation of cutting corners here as the future of your business is on the line. A below par backup solution won’t do you any favours. Penny pinching at this stage means you will have to invest even more later to recover lost data. The real value of a decent backup system is the savings you make down the line, rather than immediate profits.
Choosing a Platform
There are many different types of backup systems available today, and while in the past it was just a simple backup disc or tape, today backing up has evolved into dynamic, fluid systems. You can now store and backup your data in the cloud which provides quick and easy access at all times. Modern solutions are hybrid, adaptable and versatile. A hybrid cloud solution, for instance, entails using software-based backups with a cloud-based system. This provides a more dynamic way to back up that practically guarantees you can access your valuable data in the event of an unexpected disaster and loss of data.
Prepare a Data Recovery Plan
Initiating the recovery step is vital to recovering your data and should be ingrained in the backup process. You simply must have a detailed plan in place that is both clear and concise enough so anyone can handle the task of starting up the recovery process. You will also need to plan out which data is prioritised and which steps come straight after restoration, so everything is crystal clear. Anyone involved in the backing up process should be kept up to date about the backup and disaster recovery process.
Backup Testing
Test, test, and test again. If you fail to test your backups, you will run the serious risk of not having the data in hand when you really need it the most. To ensure this never happens, you need to test your backups frequently, so you know for sure they will succeed. This is also the perfect opportunity to ensure your employees know how the whole backup system works.
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4Sight Group can help to equip your business with the perfect, tailor-made backup and disaster recovery solution. Reach out to us for a personalised, obligation free consultation.
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