Remind you of anything when
it comes to data backup?
I
t’s rarer these days for small businesses not to have some sort of databackup system in place. When we ask new or existing clients whether they have a process to store and retrieve all company information, “of course we do – we’re not stupid” is a common response. But, with some carefully worded further investigation we often find that….
…network data is backed up to a tape, DVD, USB or external storage unit that is then left in the office (not much use if the building burns down, or the backup files are stolen as part of a break-in)
…network data is backed up weekly or as-and-when someone remembers to do it (not very helpful if you lose the most recent days/weeks’ worth of information)
In such cases, whilst doing something is certainly better than nothing, it doesn’t guarantee that the business can continue as normal when disaster strikes. And in today’s tougher than ever economic conditions, such a
situation can mean the difference between the business continuing to trade or having to fold.
The way you treat your business data should be as integral as the way you treat your people, your vehicles and your equipment. Maintaining guaranteed, on-demand access to up-to-date and accurate company information and historical data must be a component of a robust disaster recovery plan. With the advance in cloud-based technologies, critical data can now be backed up, stored and retrieved quickly, cost-effectively and with minimum impact on the day-to-day running of the business and with little reliance on any actions or responsibility from the company’s employees.
Public Cloud Backup
Data held on company premises is copied and sent over a dedicated or shared network to a service provider’s data centre. The backup
infrastructure is hosted and managed by the service provider and clients are charged a monthly fee for their backup service based on a number of bespoke criteria such as capacity required and bandwidth. There can be a wide variety of service levels from purely hosting and storing data (which would still rely on the client’s internal IT resources carrying out a number of backup tasks) to a fully managed service complete with service level agreements (SLAs), assisting with restores, reporting, troubleshooting backup failures and notifying clients when thresholds are reached.
Private Cloud Backup
A private cloud backup offers the same features as a public cloud backup except that the client’s data is stored privately, e.g. through the use of firewalls, so that it can be fully internally owned and operated. As opposed to a public cloud backup, a private cloud backup therefore allows the
So why should you be considering paying for a remote backup / managed backup service?
1. In the event of any data loss – whether that is a hardware failure or theft of PC, laptop or tablet – instant data recovery can be just a click away
2. The process of backing up and managing the company’s data is carried out remotely saving significant time for the business
3. Your data is completely secure and protected – encrypted and stored securely so that only your business can access it when needed
And what might be the risks if you fail to act?
• As your business data grows so to do the demands on more storage space, more time spent backing up and more management headaches keeping control
When considering outsourcing this business critical function to a managed service provider, here are some of the key considerations you should ask any potential provider:
• How will the initial backup data be migrated and will this be charged as an additional cost to any monthly fee?
• In the case of a disaster, can the provider deliver a full recovery service onsite or remotely from over a network?
• Does the provider guarantee that all local data protection laws can be complied with?
• What level of backup reporting is available and to what level of detail? • Can the service provider ensure that client data is held on a separate
infrastructure to data from the service provider’s other clients if required, e.g. due to sensitivity?
• What are the service level agreements (SLAs), how are these monitored and what happens when SLAs are not met?
• Who is responsible for restores?
