Like most business owners, I’m sure you know back-ups are an essential component of your network health. However, too many businesses don’t have all the facts about backup. Take a look at these back-up risks that we commonly find bullying local businesses.
Back-ups are inconsistent. Remember the 7th grade. You know, that awkward stage when everyone is discovering new developments with their bodies and bullying becomes more direct and hurtful. Come to think of it, everything seemed a bit inconsistent in Junior High. This type on inconsistency in your back-ups can be the difference between pushing through an attack or losing your gym shorts. Make sure your back-ups run every night to give you the most recent copies of your company data when you need them.
Your back-up is incomplete. Back-ups should include all of the data for your business from applications to stored files. You can start by mapping out your business’s data. Work with a trusted IT professional to learn what information you have and where it is kept like on a server in your office or in a data center off-site. Inventory all of your data to make sure nothing is missed and make a clear map of the information you need to include in your regular back-ups.
Don’t forget things like your client profiles, personnel files for your employees, general company information and marketing materials.
Not enough data was stored. Generally, there are specific pieces of data that companies are required to keep files on for a specific term like 3 years or 7 years. Most back-up systems are quite flexible regarding how much historical data they hold for recovery. Look at the point of recovery date and time for your business’s data.
Often times, off-site users are overlooked. Think about every person in your office and outside your office that uses and stores company data. Your remote employees may need to have their laptops or tablets included in the back-up since they are always on the go. Do you have a strategy in place to capture these out of network files?
Servers were never put into the equation. Your business is not just what is held on each computer, but all the data on your computers and servers. There is a plethora of data stored for your e-mail, applications, and even website or hosted data. All of this information must be backed up to be restored gracefully.
No one documented the recovery procedures. Your business may suffer from an intrusion online, a break-in at the office or even a sabotage by an exemployee. Regardless of the disaster, your company will need copies of your business data to restore operations. Your back -ups are the only resource to get you up and running again, but what if no one knows how to do it? Make sure there is more than one contact in your business that knows just what to do when there is a breach.
It was setup and forgotten. Test, test and test again. Make sure you don’t forget that your back-ups are running. Take time to test them each quarter to ensure all of your data is present and accounted for. It is not a question of IF your data will be compromised, but WHEN.
Our back-up is onsite. Unfortunately, this is an elementary mistake. Back-ups that are onsite with the actual data they are backing up are just as vulnerable as the original data. For example, a fire, flood, power outage, equipment failure, or theft could leave you down with no recourse if your data and back-up are both in the same physical location. Shift your back-ups to an off-site location to avoid a total loss when disaster strikes. Losing data will always be a business risk. The question is, can you get your data back and how fast. Give us a call if you are interested in a custom solution for your business. We are here to help! 703 596-0022 www.tsiva.com
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