How much Data can your Business afford to lose?

How much Data can your Business afford to lose?

More and more each year, businesses are moving from paper to electronic forms of data collection; from Accounting information, employee details, Sales commissions, orders, and contact data. With the increasing amounts of electronically held data, there come unique risks of loss.

Mix in the increased hurricane activity, like that in 2004; and there are significant reasons to be properly prepared.

Having a complete Business Continuity Plan involves minimizing areas of risk where your business is vulnerable and creating a plan to reduce that vulnerability.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor:
• Over 40% of all companies that experience a disaster never reopen.
• Over 25% of the remaining companies close with in two years.

But disasters to your data don’t just come packaged in natural furies like Hurricanes and Tornadoes; they arrive discreetly as virus attacks, employee sabotage, surges from lightning hits, accidental erasure, and computer malfunctions. Limiting your exposure along with a having a secure backup plan is a key component of your overall Business Continuity Plan, even for those small “disasters”.

I am frequently asked the question, “How often should I backup?” My response being, “How often could you afford to lose data and not be able to recover?” So the first step is to identify your reliance on your specific business data, and the frequency which you should be backing up.
Second, implement a strategy that accommodates storing the data on a reliable media type, and keeping that media offsite. Third, publish the plan and schedule for you or assigned employees. Fourth, commit to the backup regiment so that it becomes a habit. Lastly, and maybe the most overlooked part of the plan, fully test the restoration of the backup data.

Some Key hints are:
• Use Tape media as the primary backup, it is the most reliable and least susceptible to accidents like dropping.
• USB Drives are a good backup source, just not as reliable as Tapes, but can be a valuable secondary and more frequent backup.
• Utilize RAID configurations in your computer servers; which are redundant hard drives, so that Drive B can take over instantly if Drive A fails.
• Properly secure and store your backups; they contain valuable and proprietary business data.
• You can never have too many layers of backup protection.

Although, many of the points here are technical in nature, a backup plan is more of a business concern than a technological one. Research business continuity planning and backups on the internet and from you local Emergency Management centers or seek help from a qualified professional.

Backups always look more affordable after you lost the data, and the first thing you would be willing to pay for after a “disaster” of all forms.
After looking at the costs to protect your business from a data disaster, take the time to ask yourself “What is the possible cost of not having a plan?”

Gus Anderson, can be reached for further questions at 954 340-4599 x202 or via email at ganderson@affinitycgi.com.