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Is your workforce going mobile, anxious to take their new Apple iPad’s out on sales calls and other activities outside the office?  Don’t let your company data be at risk.  Data security for your workforce’s mobile devices  begins with proper backup.

How to Back Up Your iPad

by Greg Hanson

If you have ever suffered though a computer crash, you know just how devastating it can be. To begin with, there’s all the time, effort, and expense of getting your computer back up and running again (or replacing it entirely). But beyond that, there’s the loss of data and personalized system settings. Depending on how recent your last backup was, you could have lost anywhere from a few hours to several months worth of work, photos, and memories.

The same threat is present with an iPad. Just like any other computer system, an iPad is vulnerable to defective hardware and corrupted software. Plus, there’s always the chance that you drop your iPad and break it beyond repair. It could even be lost or stolen. For all these reasons, it is vital that you regularly back up your iPad onto your main computer. Thankfully, this is a simple procedure.

If you do not already have iTunes installed on your computer, install it now. It is the primary software used to sync iPads with computers. It allows you to move documents, photos, and videos back and forth between your computer and your iPad. Plus, you can save a backup copy of all your iPad settings and apps onto your main computer.

Connect your iPad to your computer by using a dock connector cable (which you should have received with your iPad purchase). iTunes should detect the iPad and list it in the left-hand panel among the available devices. Unless your settings have already been changed, a backup should begin automatically.

If the backup does not begin, though, click on the name of the iPad in that left-hand panel. At the bottom right-hand corner of the window you should see a “Sync” button. Click on that button to begin backing up your computer.

You can also use the iTunes menu options to set your specific syncing options. This is helpful to prevent all the memory on the iPad being consumed by photos, videos, music, and podcasts. Determine the exact folders or files which should be synced from your computer onto your iPad. However, for a complete backup, you should allow all your files, apps, and settings to be synced from your iPad to your computer.

To provide an extra layer of security, regularly back up your main computer onto an external storage device. By doing so, you will have one backup of your main computer plus two backups of your iPad.