4 Common Questions Regarding Business Backups
Consider where your business would be if all your company data was wiped out by a hurricane, flood or even by hackers. Every piece of information you own could be gone and your business’s downtime could cost you to go out of business. There is a way to avoid this happening by backing up your data. When choosing a backup process and what information you will need, think about these common questions below
1.What is a backup:
A backup solution in your business refers to copying virtual files or databases to a secondary site in case of equipment failure, hacking, data corruption, or any catastrophe. Backups capture your data in “snapshots” so if something were to happen those “snapshots” can be recovered to its previous last back up. Using backup software automates this process. The next question your business should decide is how often to back up your data.
2. How often should your data be backed up:
Any information including financial records, customer information, tax forms, sales records, etc. is critical information to keep your business running. Depending on the type of work your business does, you can choose how often to back up your information. Think about the information you would need to continue working if something would happen to your PC, client information, your account information, documents, etc. How long has it taken for you to gather all this information? What would happen if you couldn’t get it back once lost? At the very minimum, your data should be backed up once a week. This schedule will depend on what your business does and how often you input new information.
3.Types of Backups:
Various types of backups exist, however, finding the right one will depend on time, security, and your budget.
- Memory Sticks
- The most common removable hard drives. These devices are cheaper but at times unreliable, lost easily, and damaged due to their size. The data is unsecured
- Tape backup
- Old standard industry back up for businesses with reasonable data that needs backed up
- Daily, weekly, and monthly backups can be performed, but you must have reasonable tape rotation and store the tapes offsite
- This process is slow to both backup and restore and can also be subjected to human error
- Online Data backup
- Popular choice for small to medium size businesses as there is no need to purchase any hardware or software, just a monthly cost. Businesses can select the data that they want to backup. Once you’ve chosen what information to back up, your data is sent in an encrypted format and sent via the internet to a high security data center. These backups are automated and no user intervention is required.
- Store multiple backups or single files
4.How backups are important to your business:
No matter the size of your business, regular backups may be the most important step your business can take to prevent disasters. Knowing that your data is backed up [& tested] this should give you a peace of mind that when a disaster happens, you will still have access to your data.
If you have any questions or aren’t sure what backup solution is right for your business, contact Opal Business Solutions. We would be more than happy to help your business backup your data with the right solution.
