What Can a Cloud Backup Provide Your Organization?

Cloud, data recovery, ,
12
Dec 2017

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Cloud backups have rapidly become the market leader in terms of backing up data, but what exactly can a cloud backup system offer your organization?

You only have to take the briefest of looks at the IT press to see just how popular cloud backups are, they’re positioned as the future and they’re allowing us to do new things with our data. And it’s not without good reason, cloud backups are probably the most important evolution that data storage has ever seen.

No organization should be without a cloud backup as one of its storage options, so it’s time to understand exactly what it can provide for your business.

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Why You Need Your Data in the Cloud

There are a huge range of benefits on offer from cloud backups, so let’s concentrate on some of the most important:

  • Constant access to your data – As long as you have access to the internet, you will be able to connect to your cloud. And this means that even if you’re a remote worker in the middle of Europe, you’ll still have exactly the same access to the same files as your co-workers in New York. This accessibility can seriously improve your business as employees no longer have to face timely waits whilst files are emailed over and, even better, all the relevant files can be accessed at any time of the day.
  • Energy Efficient – We live in an age where being green is highly important for both the planet and an organization’s public perception. And, thanks to cloud backup providers hosting multiple clients on their servers, everyone’s carbon footprint is seriously reduced by adopting cloud storage.
  • Offsite storage offers enhanced protection – Storing every copy of your organization’s files on site certainly provides quick access and can facilitate a quick restore in the case of a data emergency, but what if a different type of emergency hits your organization? Natural disasters can absolutely obliterate physical data sources, so keeping a backup off site – such as in a cloud system – provides you with an additional option for retaining and then restoring your data.
  • Cost and Space Savings – A cloud backup service reduces the need for your business to purchase and make room for physical storage systems. Almost all cloud backups go through a specialist provider who provides their own hardware offsite. Not only does this allow them to minimize their costs as they’re able to build a huge database of users who are renting their space, but they’re able to pass these cost savings onto your tariffs. And that’s one of the most attractive benefits of cloud storage.
  • Reduces Your IT Worries – Running a business is a highly difficult and time consuming cost, so having to worry about your storage capabilities is something you could really do without. With the explosion in cloud service providers ready and willing to provide offsite storage, this is a task that you can ship out to a third party and allow yourself to concentrate on making your business as successful as possible.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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The Essential Local Backup Checklist

Backup and Recovery, data recovery, Local Backups, ,
05
Dec 2017

localbackup

Local backups are fantastic for ensuring backed up data is kept close to hand, but to make sure the most crucial data is there you need a good checklist.

You see, as with all backups, preparation is essential to ensure your local backup can help keep your organization functioning in the case of a data emergency. A good checklist avoids any disasters by making sure the right data is available and ready, but with so much data where do you start?

Well, let’s get started by showing you the essential points you need on your checklist.

Checklist

  • Up to Date? Whilst it’s important to have data available which goes back months (or even years in some cases), it’s just as vital that current documents are also backed up. Therefore, pick a document at random from your ‘Recent Documents’ history and verify that this document is available in your local backup – the last thing you want in the case of a data disaster is to have all of your most pressing work missing. 
  • How Many Versions? One version of a backed up document is great, but what’s even better is to have multiple versions of the same document backed up. Changes can be made to documents used over a long period of time and it’s always useful to keep the changes recorded in case of future queries. Keeping an archive of your local backups is important as it allows you to verify any changes that have been made when, in the case of data loss, this may be incredibly difficult to trace. 
  • Is Your Data Easily Accessible? A local backup provides quick access to your data when you need it most, but this is only of use if you know you have the facility to access it. For example, if your entire network goes down, do you know that you can access it with technology not connected to your network? It’s easy for data to be protected and not work on every backup laptop/PC so make sure you regularly check your backup technology to check it can read your optical drives and run any flash drives you use for storing data. 
  • Does the Recovery Process Work? As well as regularly checking that your backup hardware works, you also want to make sure that the recovery process works. Factor in a weekly check of your recovery process to confirm that folders can be rebuilt and files accessed with no problems. Eliminating any issues that could possibly occur when restoring your data will reduce the downtime your organization faces. 
  • Have You Automated What You Can? The nature of a local backup means that you can’t necessarily automate all aspects of your backup e.g. backing up data to a DVD requires plenty of human interaction. However, not only can you set yourself plenty of automatic reminders on your computer, you can also automate backups to external hard drives which are connected to your network. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Never Forget These Business IT Continuity Basics

Backup and Recovery, IT Continuity, IT Plan, ,
28
Nov 2017

businesscontinuity

Any organization worth their weight in gold will have a business IT continuity in place, but will it have taken care of all the basics that are required?

It’s crucial that your business IT continuity plan addresses these basics or you’ll discover – when it’s far too late – that it’s not possible to get your business back on track as effectively or quickly as you could have. And, often, these basics are so simple that you’ll be kicking yourself that they weren’t covered in the first place.

Now, the last thing we want is for your business to go offline for longer than necessary, so we’re going to share some simple, but effective tips to make sure your IT continuity has a strong foundation and can get you up and running as quickly as possible.

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  • Research and Prepare: If you want your IT continuity to be implemented as smoothly as possible then it’s essential that you plan, plan and plan some more. You need to understand exactly what your IT operations are and how they rank in importance to get a better picture of how your organization uses its technology. To achieve this, you must regularly liaise with department heads to discuss their needs and then link these all together to produce a plan which ensures the business as a whole can get back online as soon as possible.

 

  • Regularly Test Your Plan: You would be surprised by just how many organizations fail to test their IT continuity plan. And the potential for disaster is greatly increased when you neglect testing your plan. You see, no IT continuity plan is perfect, so it needs regularly testing to iron out any creases and maximize its speed and efficiency. Once you know that it’s as perfect as it can be, you’ll find that you can sleep a whole lot easier.

 

  • Responsibility Needs Identifying: In the case of an IT disaster, it’s common for panic to spread throughout a business. As a result, it’s vital that those in charge of implementing an IT continuity plan can be identified quickly. Creating a responsibility chart should allow your organization to see who is in charge of what when it comes to an IT disaster, so make sure this has been circulated to all staff. And you must ensure that paper copies are also available as an IT disaster means no access to PowerPoint!

 

  • Align Technology Accordingly: Downtime is inevitable in all IT disasters, but the ability to minimize this can depend on the technology at your disposal. Larger organizations are likely to have more complex IT capabilities and, as such, the time required to rebuild this will be greater than a smaller organization. And the power of your backup technology can make a real difference in the speed that an IT continuity plan can be executed and completed. Therefore, it’s crucial that you understand the time taken to restore your IT capabilities and the technology which can achieve this most quickly.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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5 Mistakes to Avoid when Backing Up Data

Backup and Recovery, Cloud, External Hard Drive, Flash Drive, Security, , ,
14
Nov 2017

 

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Backups are crucial for keeping your organization’s data safe and readily available in the case of any data emergencies, but you need to backup correctly.

Your data holds an untold amount of value for your organization, so you need to ensure it’s looked after and handled correctly. Backing this data up should be one of your organization’s primary objectives and, in truth, you’re probably already doing this to some degree. However, are you doing it correctly and to the best of your abilities?

There are so many different methods and techniques used for backing up data that it’s possible you’re not utilizing them all correctly. Let’s take a look at 5 of the biggest mistakes you’re making and how you can avoid them.

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1. Not Backing Up What You Need

We use so much data now on a day-to-day basis that it’s difficult to keep track of exactly what we use and how much value it has to our operations. And this is why so many organizations fail to back up their data effectively. It’s vital that you carry out a rigorous analysis in order to prioritize the data which has to be backed up. Naturally, business objectives and operations change, so you need to regularly audit your data to maximize the value of your backup.

2. Only Backing Up Once

A backup can be the difference between your business being able to operate and being stranded in a scenario where there’s no data to operate with. However, what happens if your backup data is corrupted? Or if your storage options fail? Therefore, rather than relying on just one backup format, rely on several. Backup to optical drives, hard drives and cloud systems to guarantee you can retrieve your data when you need it most.

3. Not Testing Your Backup

It’s nice to have all your data backed up in case of an emergency, but do you know for sure that it actually works? And do you know how to fully retrieve your data? This knowledge is essential for ensuring you can reinstall your data, so you need to run regular tests to make sure that your backup routine works effectively and that you know how to execute it.

4. Running Out of Backup Space

You may have the most fantastic and effective backup system in place to take care of your data, but what happens when you run out of storage space? Well, you’ll find that you simply can’t store all the data you need to and this could be disastrous for your organization. This is why it’s very important that you assess your storage needs not just for the present, but also for the future as preparation is key when it comes to storing data.

5. Not Automating Your Backups

We live in such a busy age that it’s getting increasingly more difficult to stay on top of everything and backups are no different. Whilst manual backups may give you a sense of control, they’re also opening you up to failure as humans are more than capable of making mistakes or simply forgetting to start the backup process. Most backup systems have automatic capabilities, so don’t make the mistake of relying on your memory, automate the process.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Why Do You Need to Backup Your Data?

Backup and Recovery, Office Network, Security, , ,
31
Oct 2017

 

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A good business needs good data and they need even better access to it. However, not all businesses understand just how crucial access to their data is.

One of the best ways to protect your data is by carrying out regular backups of your data to ensure that copies are kept in secure storage. This ensures that no matter what happens on individual PCs or individual sets of data, there should still be a copy of the lost data ready to fill in the gap. This form of pre-emptive action can really help your organization run smoothly without the need for laborious data duplication.

So, we’re agreed that data loss is bad, but how can your data go missing? And what can the knock on effects be? Let’s take a look at why you need to backup your data.

Systems Can and Do Get Hacked

Due to a combination of human error and the devious tactics of hackers, PCs can easily fall victim to malicious software which compromises entire networks and all the data on them. And, in the case of ransomware, this data can be encrypted and only released once a ransom has been paid. However, if your organization completes regular backups then the amount of data which can’t be retrieved will be significantly reduced. This leaves you in the enviable position of not having to give in and pay an extortionate amount of money for your data to be decrypted.

PCs Are Prone to Failure

When you consider the huge number of components that make up a PC, it’s no surprise that they’re prone to failure. Sometimes this can be due to age, sometimes it can be down to someone spilling their cup of coffee over the hard drive. And when components fail or become damaged, they’re sometimes left beyond repair and all the data on that PC is unable to be salvaged. With a backup to hand, the threat of permanent data loss is minimized. Even with a backup to hand, though, we still recommend keeping coffee away from your hard drive!

Data Transfer Hard Drive Backup Connection

Your Business Needs Data

If you suffer a catastrophic data loss event then your business is going to seriously struggle. Just imagine that all your customers and providers details had been accidentally deleted or compromised – operating in this scenario would be an absolute nightmare. And if you want to get a feel for the financial damage this can cause, this report estimates that around $1.7 trillion is lost in downtime every year thanks to data loss. Hopefully this should underline exactly why a regular backup is in your organization’s best interest. 

Your Network Needs Data

While your business certainly needs data to operate, your PC network cannot operate without data. So, for example, if a network driver suddenly becomes corrupted or accidentally deleted then that can spell the end of any PC activity within your organization. And, due to our reliance on PCs in almost every imaginable industry, this is the last thing your organization needs. However, by backing up your data you’re providing a safety net that could serve to be crucial in keeping your business trading.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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