Tag Archives: data backup tips

How to Backup Your System in Less Time

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20160505

You know how important it is to back up your system’s data, but could you be doing it faster?

Everyone knows that backing up a company’s network is a requirement for any business. It’s not even an option anymore. If anything happens, and it will eventually, losing files can ruin an entire company, whether everything is lost, or only a few important files. But now that everyone keeps backups, a major problem or disaster only means a few days of frustration and annoyance before everything gets back on track. The main problem now is that backing up files seems to be more and more of a hassle. Sometimes it doesn’t even get done, simply because it’s too much work. With all of the technology we have now, this shouldn’t ever be a problem. Here are a few tips to help you backup your system more quickly and easily.

Stick with one system

Many people make the mistake of switching to a new backup system every time one comes out, or even whenever they decide that there’s a better way to do it. This month they store everything on the cloud, next month they try to back up files on other offices’ servers. Not only is this confusing for everyone, it wastes a lot of time. Someone has to create the new system, first of all, and then check it over to make sure it is safe. Then, the entire staff has to be trained on the system, or at least informed of the change. After that, all of the old backups have to be moved to the new system. Instead of going through all of this, spend a little extra time working out the best system for you and your company, and make sure it is implemented flawlessly. Then, maintain the system until it is truly outdated. Every 10 years or so, everything will change and you’ll need to perform major updates, but until then, just stick with what you have.

No removable media

For a while, the most common way to back up files was to store them on flash drives, or piles of CDs or DVDs. That time is long gone. For one thing, removable media is not a safe way to back up data, unless you move it offsite every time. In addition, storing files this way is a huge hassle. Disks take a particularly long time to burn, and get expensive pretty quickly. Really, most people don’t consider CDs or DVDs a viable form of data storage anymore anyway. Flash drives are great for easily transferring files, but should never be used as a backup medium, except as an absolute final option.

Backup software

Now let’s talk about what does work. If you haven’t already, consider finding software that will help you backup your data. Good software can make the process easier and faster, but it also makes your backups safer. The software is carefully designed to eliminate every risk of losing data, but if you try to do it without software, a few bad keystrokes made by an employee at the end of a long day can wipe out everything.

Automatic backups

If software still doesn’t make the process easy enough, consider setting up automatic backups. With this type of system, either software or a company will backup your entire system for you, whenever you want, and as often as you want. Many businesses have their backups done overnight, while the network isn’t being used. This option may be a little more expensive, but it’s worth it if you can afford it. The best part is that the company you choose to work with will usually be accountable if anything were to ever go wrong.

Looking for more information about data backup systems? Contact us! We’re here to answer all of your questions.

Why Should I Back Up My Data? What Could Go Wrong?

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20160218

Be prepared for a data disaster by having all of your data backed up.

Data backup is a huge concept in the world of business. It seems like everyone is doing it, and you may be following suit, but have you ever asked yourself why? What could go wrong if you didn’t maintain current backups of all of your files? In reality, it’s very unlikely that anything major will ever happen, causing you to lose most or all of your files, but if it were to happen. it would be a huge disaster for your company, leaving you closed for several days, at the very least. In some cases, it could even lead to you closing your doors forever. Here are a few things that could cause something so terrible.

Natural disaster

One of the worst possibilities is a natural disaster. A fire or a tornado could destroy your office building. A hurricane or earthquake could destroy some or all of the buildings in the area, including any data storage centers you may have near you. This is one of the main reasons that it’s so important to keep at least one backup copy off-site. A great way to do this is through the cloud, because your data will be stored at different places around the country, and hopefully immune to any single natural disaster.

Employee error

Unfortunately, people aren’t perfect. You’re employees don’t know everything there is to know about computers, and eventually, one of them will make a mistake. It will probably just be accidentally deleting the file they were working on, or turning off a computer while it’s updating, but in the off-chance that an employee were to accidentally delete a whole set of files, such as all of the accounting records from the last five years, chaos would follow, unless you have a good backup waiting to repopulate the system.

Hacker attack

There are some pretty bad people in the world. Some of them want access to your data, and some just want to hurt your company, for whatever reason. Although preventing these attacks is a conversation for another time, it’s important to remember that a hacker attack, whether or not it’s intentional, can destroy files, often important ones. Preventing these attacks is very important, but because you can never be absolutely sure that it will never happen, it’s also important to prepare for the possibility.

Virus

Although a hacker could intentionally use a virus to get into your system, there are also numerous very harmful viruses circulating that are no longer attached to any person. All it takes is for an employee to open an e-mail that shouldn’t be opened, or the download of a software that isn’t what it says it is. Some of the worst viruses have the potential of wiping out an entire system. It would be very unfortunate to lose your entire file system all because someone opened an e-mail, but it is always a possibility. Make sure you are prepared.

Fault in hardware or software

Although computer equipment and software is general very well designed, it can never be perfect. Servers will eventually get old and break. Depending on which part goes bad, you may immediately lose access to the files stored there forever. Software isn’t perfect either. After all, it was designed by a human. Although software bugs usually cause small annoyances, such as a slow computer, or having to redo something, there is always the possibility of a major bug going unnoticed.

As you can see, there is a number of things that could go wrong, potentially erasing part, or all of your file system. Make sure you’re prepared by creating backups of your entire system. For help with this, or anything else, contact us. We’re here to help.

Data Backup: Some Tips and Tricks

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20160114

Data backup should be a part of every business’s IT security plan.

If you run a business, you probably know by this point how important it is to back up your data. You know that not backing everything up could easily result in a loss of data, and that a loss of data could mean any number of disasters, from a loss of continuity to a complete shut-down of the company. Given this, you may already have a backup system set up, but whether or not you do, there is always something else to learn. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to most effectively and efficiently back up your data.

Do it

This is the most important thing that can be said about data backup. This is not the time to do lots of research and spend six months designing the perfect plan. You’ll be better off doing a little rough research and picking something as soon as possible, because you never know when disaster will strike. You can always update your plan later, when you’ve had more time to think about it. It may be a little extra work, but it will be a lot less work than trying to recreate all of the data lost because of data loss occurring before you had a chance to start anything.

Follow the three and one rule

The three and one rule says that all of your data should be stored in at least three different places, and at least one of them should be off-site. This means that you could store two copies of your data in the same closet, but the third copy needs to be in a completely different facility. Imagine that a horrible disaster struck your office. Obviously, the primary copies of your data would be destroyed. Where could you put that third copy, that it would still be safe and retrievable?

Automate as much as possible

Set up as much of the backup process as possible to be automatic. The computer won’t forget to upload when it’s time, or accidentally save files to the wrong place, or write over files that shouldn’t be written over, but humans make mistakes. The more you can get the computer to do, the safer your data will be. It will also be much easier on you if the computer does it for you rather than having to spend time and energy doing it manually.

Consider using a company

Consider hiring a company to take care of your backups. All you’ll have to do is connect your files to them and they’ll take care of the rest. They’ll make sure that everything gets uploaded to the correct place at the correct time. They’ll also make sure that the data is safe. Most of these companies base their storage in the cloud, which means that many copies of your data will be stored in many different locations, all over the United States or farther.

Do routine audits

Every so often, maybe every quarter, take a fresh look at what your data backup system looks like. Most of the time, it will still be running just fine, but every once in a while, you’ll find that something isn’t functioning like it’s supposed to, or you’ll realize that you need to change something to fit your needs or keep up with the times. Unfortunately, backup systems are not something you can ignore and expect to work forever, but as long as you audit your system routinely, you should be able to keep everything in order.

Do you have more questions about backing up your data? Feel free to contact us. We’re experts, and we’re happy to help you with anything that you need.

5 Simple Data Backup and Data Loss Tips for Small Businesses

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As a small business, it is important have a plan in place for backing up and securing your data.

As a small business, it is important have a plan in place for backing up and securing your data.

As your business grows and you continue to implement new technologies into your business, it becomes increasingly important that your business properly backs up your data on a regular basis. Data loss can be extremely detrimental to any business, and even force many businesses to shut their doors within a few short months of the data loss taking place. Luckily, there are some simple measures that your business can take that will help you to ensure that you are safe from data loss and able to maintain your systems appropriately. Follow these basic tips to safeguard your business and mitigate data loss risk.

1. Preparedness is Key

The best thing that a business can do to protect themselves against data loss is to have a plan in place in the event that data loss occurs. This begins with ensuring that you have the proper backup systems in place. All businesses should institute daily (or at least weekly) backups both in the cloud and on physical hard drives to ensure that no data is truly lost. It is also a good idea to speak with a company that are experts in data loss and data recovery, who can help you to put together a preparedness plan that keeps your business safe.

2. Start with Proper Policies and Training

Did you know that internal employees are responsible for almost half of all data loss? We can’t always account for human error, but a great way to mitigate internal data loss risk is to ensure that you have the proper policies in place to ensure that your employees are properly trained on mitigating data loss. Additionally, make sure that your team is properly trained on handling sensitive data, as one of the leading causes of data theft is actually internal teams sending data to the wrong person, or including data that is sensitive in an email unknowingly. By putting effective policies in place you can greatly reduce the risk of data loss and theft.

3. Backup on Two Physical Hard Drives

All businesses should have a physical copy of their data backed up on a regular basis. The most simple and inexpensive way to achieve this is to keep your data backed up on at least two physical hard drives. This helps to ensure that your data remains safe even if the main system and one of the physical backups fails. The chances of that are highly unlikely, and the chances of having all three fail are even more unlikely. Backups should be scheduled on a daily or weekly basis depending on your businesses’ data needs.

4. Do not Keep Sensitive Data on Laptops

One of the easiest ways for a thief to gain access to sensitive data is by stealing a company laptop, which is a much more common occurrence than you would think. Try to keep all sensitive data off of employee and company laptops and ensure that you are storing all data on removal flash drives. This helps to ensure that the data is properly backed up, without making for a security risk.

5. Regularly Test Your Backups

Not only should you be scheduling backups on a daily or weekly basis, but you should also be testing those backups all the time. Try to test each of your backups (and also check your cloud data backup systems for stability) at least once per week so that you can have peace of mind and know that everything is working as intended.

If you are interested in putting together a data loss prevention plan that is customized for your business, please reach out and contact us today to schedule your initial chat with our data loss experts.