November 26, 2010
Homefield IT
How good is your current backup solution? Having a reliable backup solution is the first step to accomplishing a successful disaster recovery plan. These guidelines will help you evaluate and improve your current backup solution.
It’s impossible to have a disaster recovery plan without first having an efficient backup solution. So, the question is: Is your backup solution truly efficient – or just good enough?
Traditionally, backup processes use a tape storage method. But unfortunately, tape has many limitations.
Tape-based backup systems involve high costs. This is especially true with large capacity backups. Additional problems include complicated upgrades, degradation over time, and sluggish backup and restoration.
Traditional backup procedures only capture a single snapshot of your information each day. This means that if your backup is programmed to occur at 12 midnight, you jeopardize losing the entire next day’s work if disaster strikes.
Backing up traditionally requires rigorous manual labor. Someone has to make sure that the proper media is in the drive. Someone has to evaluate the backup results to ensure completeness, as well as periodically execute data restorations. Once the backup is complete, someone has to take it offsite for security purposes.
Although some companies are equipped to perform all of these backup-related tasks, most aren’t—and many are unsure whether their backups will be available when needed.
However, during the last three to five years, the standard backup method has shifted to digital solutions that provide greater capacity and quicker backup and restoration.
Here are some ways that you can improve your backup system:
- Ensure that every bit of your data is backed up several times per day.
- Remove the human factor from the backup equation. (This reduces the possibility of error as well as operating costs.)
- Choose a restoration process that is fast yet flexible, so you can easily re-instate your entire data set or any part of it if needed.
- Ensure that your system has very little impact on your business operations. It should be transparent to you and your employees that the backups are even taking place (that is, until you need them, of course!).
Don’t hesitate to contact us for more details. We can help you put together and manage an efficient backup solution that’s ideal for your specific requirements.