Prepare yourself before disaster strikes. When it comes  to data backup and disaster recovery (BDR), being prepared  for potential disasters is key to keep your business running.  It’s not only important to have a disaster recovery solution  you trust, but to make sure you test it as well.

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70% of businesses that suffer a serious data loss are out of business in two years

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In today’s world, technology is a key aspect to all parts of your business. From accounting and management to day-to-day communication, more and more parts of your business are performed solely on computers. Companies must take advantage of today’s technology to stay competitive. Email is the preferred method of communication and computers are integral for executing transactions and storing valuable data. With the importance of computers and technology, it is critical that every organization has a complete solution to deal with the threat of data loss.

 

For small businesses without a dedicated IT staff, maintaining an up-to-date tape library can be easily overlooked and can result in permanent data loss.

 

Small to medium businesses can suffer severe repercussions if their critical data is not securely backed up at an off-site location. A fire, power surge, hardware failure, or even basic operator error can wipe out years of data.  According to IDC (a leading market research firm), less than 40% of all small to medium-sized businesses properly and regularly backup their data.  These businesses cannot afford to lose time attempting to rebuild their lost, vital information. 

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In order to prevent such a situation from happening, it is imperative that an off-site storage system be used, providing secure copies of all data. Off-site backup devices ensure that if physical disaster (fire, flood, theft, etc.) were to strike your data center and/or office, all lost information can be retrieved from the off-site location. Most off-site backup options use the Internet to transfer data back to the business location. It can take weeks, or even months, to download all of a company’s data from the web. 

 

To quickly recover from hardware failures, viruses, or accidental deletion, it is important to have an on-site backup in addition to the off-site copy. This backup allows businesses to quickly recover from data loss due to common causes. When creating a business continuity plan, it’s important to take both on-site and off-site backup into consideration. 

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Keep this DR checklist on hand.

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Prior to a disaster ever occurring (and unfortunately it’s a matter of when  and not if) ask yourself the following:

•Do you have a disaster recovery solution in place?

•Do you trust it?

•When was the last time your backup was tested?

•How long does it take to recover from your current backup solution?

•How long can you realistically be down? 1 hour? 1 day?

•What is the financial cost of downtime to your business?

•When a disaster occurs, is there an offsite copy?