You may think your organization has implemented a foolproof and robust data backup plan, but it’s not until disaster strikes that the mettle of your efforts will truly be tested. Data recovery technology, like every other sector in the IT services field, continues to change at an intense pace, and as even legacy companies begin storing more and more information digitally, data management has taken on an ever-increasing importance. Decades of relying solely on physical data backups left companies vulnerable to any number of disaster recovery nightmares, from failing hardware to strict time and space constraints. Thanks to the abundance of current options for migrating your data backups to the cloud, many of these dangers can easily be mitigated and your company can be on the way to having secure, reliable data backups years into the future. Review your disaster recovery plan today to ensure that you won’t fall into one of these unnecessary mistakes.
Having Only a Single Physical Backup
Backup hardware has traditionally been expensive, and for growing companies with uncertain cash flows and future revenues, additional expenses that only pay dividends in the event of an emergency can seem excessive. It has been all too easy for IT managers to feel content having a single copy of their backup data in place, knowing that disaster is unlikely and that they have a plan in place even if it does occur. But multiple layers of redundancy can be incredibly important when it comes to data management, as it’s often impossible to tell how a system is going to react under vague circumstances. Combining physical backups with the power of the cloud will protect you even in the event of multiple hardware failures or thefts.
Only Remembering to Backup Old Data
With the limited space often available using physical backups, it’s tempting to focus securing older data first, knowing that in the event of a situation it’s typically easier to locate hard copies of more recent transactions and records. Prior to the digital and mobile revolutions, this was often the case, but as more and more businesses transition to a paperless configuration it’s more crucial than ever to have all data backed up as quickly and securely as possible. As cloud computing offers the ability to instantly create a virtual copy of your entire server, including POS transactions and accounting data, you’ll be confident knowing that not a single important data point will be lost in the event of a catastrophe.
Forgetting to Test Your Backups
We generally put a great deal of faith in our systems; we enter important sensitive information into them many times a day and they usually hold up to the task. Because of this, it’s far too easy to assume that your data backups are being transferred properly, only to find out that one error was preventing everything from being stored when it’s too late. The power of the cloud allows you to quickly and easily examine the efficacy of your backed-up data, without having to search through storage for additional hardware or mislabeled disks.
