Modern businesses understand the crucial role data play in their day-to-day operations. They’re vital to delivering products and services, ensuring customer satisfaction, and maintaining business reputation. However, data can be lost in a number of ways. Equipment and networks can crash, employees may steal or accidentally delete data, and cyber threats can endanger systems. Disaster can strike anytime when you least expect it.
To prevent data loss and costly recovery, it’s imperative for your business to have a comprehensive backup plan. A custom recovery solution guarantees data protection and also ensures business continuity and resilience.
Backup And Recovery Solution
Data backup solutions often involve copying data and storing them in secured locations. Replicating crucial information is a sound business practice as it secures all current data against potential risks. On the other hand, data recovery pertains to methods that allow swift recovery in the event of a disaster, man-made or otherwise.
It follows then data backup and recovery rely on protective measures to ensure businesses can resume operations after an incident. Commonly, businesses combine data backup and recovery as part of a larger disaster recovery strategy. In crafting a suitable solution for both, here are several pointers you can use for a robust data backup and recovery plan.
1. Set The Scope Of Your Backup Plan
When it comes to business data, it’s always a good practice to have a backup. This aims to protect files, operating systems, applications, devices, and infrastructure you currently use. You can have your own IT team do this for you, or you can rely on managed IT services to help you identify mission-critical data and prioritize their backup. You can also opt to include archived data to ensure you can find a suitable restore point in case of data failure.
2. Establish Frequency
Data backup requires frequent updates to ensure your business can capture changes as they occur. A scheduled backup also allows you to capture these modifications right before downtimes occur.
To protect your company data, you can perform either full, incremental, or differential backup. A full backup requires copying everything into an external storage device or an off-site location. This is an initial backup solution, followed by tracking data changes using incremental or differential backup.
The difference between the two is incremental backup only copies modifications, while differential backup copies changes and entire data sets after the most recent full backup. Depending on your business needs, one or two of these methods can work for you.
3. Follow The 3-2-1 Backup Rule
Aside from applying various backup modes, you should also consider best practices when it comes to storing current and archived data. One way to ascertain efficient data recovery is to employ multiple storage solutions to ensure reliability. This requires keeping the original data and two duplicates in different types of devices. In case of frequent natural disasters or malicious threats, it’s also ideal to store data in an off-site location.
Storage backup options can spell the difference between downtime and recovery. In storing data, keep in mind which devices can provide faster turnarounds and would allow you to minimize both financial and data losses.
4. Test Data Recovery Solutions
Testing backup and recovery solutions can ensure they work as expected in times of crisis. They need to resolve even the slightest of mishaps, from accidental deletion to larger recovery procedures, as in the case of data breaches or natural disasters.
Frequent testing, ideally once every quarter, can ensure reliability. Some of the tests you can run include timing backup and recovery processes, off-site restore tests, and simulating the recovery environment.
Timing restorative processes determine how downtimes can affect your business. They also inform you how soon you can resume operations while you reclaim data from off-site facilities. This phase also allows you to simulate threats and prepare you in case it actually happens.
5. Review And Modify
Testing can expose the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen backup solution. It allows you to spot inefficiencies and compels you to build a better solution to safeguard your data and business.
You can modify your existing backup and recovery solution to reflect best practices or even implement cost-effective measures. This would ensure your strategy reflects your business needs and protect your company from future risks. A periodic review of your current backup and recovery solution can help you stay on top of your data management and protection strategy.
Conclusion
Data backup and recovery solutions are essential for your business. This protects archived and current data from potential loss due to human error, equipment failure, natural disasters, and cyber threats. A comprehensive data backup plan covers all types of business data and spans various systems and equipment. It follows best practices with regard to backup frequency and storage options, testing, review, and modification to ensure business continuity and resilience.
