Tag: Data Backup

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Best Practices

8 Data Backup Terms You Should Know

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Data is an asset, there’s no getting around this fact. Therefore, your business needs to consider it important enough to protect with a data backup and disaster recovery solution, as even something unlikely, like a natural disaster or hacking attack, could place your organization in peril. We’re going to take a look at some of the different kinds of data backup and disaster recovery you can expect to see, as well as four terms that you should understand.

The Types of Backup
Here are four of the most common types of backup that you can expect to see in an office environment:

  • Full backup: This type of backup makes a copy of all selected files in their entirety. Most backup solutions will have to initially go through this process, and since this is such an intensive process, it will take longer than other data backup types. If this is your preferred method of backup, it will likely have to be done after-hours, as it takes a long time and could tie up processes that are needed during the workday.
  • Differential backup: This type of backup only backs up changes made to the data. This allows for faster backups, but the process of recovery is much slower.
  • Incremental backup: This type of backup is much like a differential backup, with the main difference being that an incremental backup will always back up the data regardless of if a full backup was completed or not.
  • Mirror backup: A mirror backup makes a real-time duplicate of the source and backs it up. This creates complete redundancy, but it also comes with various issues. For example, if the material is deleted by mistake, the mirror will also be deleted. This reason alone dissuades IT technicians from using mirror backups as a viable solution for their backup needs.

Now that the types of data backup have been explained, we’ll go over some of the backup-related terms you might want to know.

  • Business continuity: A business continuity plan is designed to help your business get back in proper functioning order if you’re ever hit by an unfortunate situation. All organizations need to have a business continuity plan in place.
  • Disaster recovery: Disaster recovery is specifically there in the event your business suffers from a disaster involving data loss. This includes cyberattacks, sabotage, user error, and even weather-based disasters that destroy infrastructure.
  • Recovery Point Objective (RPO): RPO is a benchmark that represents which data will be recovered by your business if it wants to get back to normal business operations following a disaster.
  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO): RTO is a benchmark that represents the time needed for your business’ data to be restored. Minimizing this number is critical to keep downtime as low as possible.

COMPANYNAME can help your business by equipping it with a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery system. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

The Right Data Recovery Strategy Is Important to Protect Your Business

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Data recovery is a major consideration that every organization that depends on data has to plan for as a part of their business continuity strategy. Since there are so many ways that businesses can lose data, there needs to be a plan to recover data for any possible reason. Today, we will take a different look at operational data loss and talk about how your organization should consider strategizing data recovery.

Data Value in Business
The first thing that you need to know is that losing data is a very big deal. In fact, there is an entire field of study created to deal with this very issue. Called infonomics, this can put a dollar value on an organization’s data. While some organizations continuously deny that data has a tangible value, it is becoming more evident than ever that those organizations (typically insurance and accounting) have a vested interest in data’s value remaining intangible. Every other business can be sure that their data has monetary value.

With the acknowledgement that the analysis of organizational data can help businesses run a more efficient and profitable business, any standard enacted to properly evaluate this asset would be made to promote a strategy of organization-wide data security. If you need to justify spending capital on a data protection and redundancy strategy, you should be able to ascertain what the actual value your data has to your organization. A few ways you can value data include:

  • How much capital would it cost to replace lost data?
  • How much revenue is dependent on that data?
  • How much money could you make by selling or renting the data you have?
  • How much capital will you have to spend to protect this data?

However, you look at your organization’s data, it is an asset, and as those assets are compromised on your network, or removed from your network, you need to have a solution in place to get that data back.

Data Backup
The first step in any data recovery strategy is data backup. At COMPANYNAME, we believe that the best data backup strategy is to promote redundancy. In order to do so we promote a strategy that backs up data locally AND offsite. This presents options to make data recovery more efficient.

Our BDR service initially backs up your entire network. Since backing up an entire network will take a long time, and any downtime is extraordinarily costly, setting up a backup solution that protects the data you need without taking down the network at all, is important. Our BDR keeps data redundant on multiple hard drives and provides an organization with the much-desired data security it is looking for from a comprehensive solution.

Disaster Recovery
The first thing that has to be said is that the best data recovery strategy is one that never has to be used. However, data loss disasters can (and do) happen, leaving your business to pick up the pieces. The best way to do this is to have a dedicated disaster recovery platform in place that takes two crucial factors into account:

  • Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – The interval of time that might pass during a disruption before the amount of data lost exceeds the maximum threshold that your business can weather.
  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO) – The duration of time within which data or business process must be restored after a disruption before it can be considered a complete break in continuity.

By thoroughly managing your disaster recovery program, your organization is sure to be able to get its data back–and its business’ processes up and running–to ensure that your business is able to sustain operational integrity. For more information about how to get a data backup and disaster recovery working for your business, call COMPANYNAME today at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

The Best Way to Approach Data Backup

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All businesses hope that they’ll never have to use their data backup and disaster recovery plan, but the point stands that each business should have one, just in case of a worst-case scenario. For a small business with a limited budget, the prospect of investing in a solution they might never need is daunting. To help you get started, we’ve put together a couple of basic backup practices that you should keep in mind for your business.

Back Up As Much Data as Possible
If you’re wondering what data your organization should prioritize, the correct answer is all of it. Data is invaluable in the business world, and even if you think you can make do without some of it, chances are that you can’t guarantee it won’t be useful somewhere down the road. You should never accept data loss of any kind. Tape backup systems tend to take complete backups, but they often can only be performed once a day, making it difficult to take and deploy them adequately without running the risk of either operational inefficiency or losing at least some data from the past 24 hours. We recommend a cloud-hosted backup system that takes snapshots of data that has been changed recently, guaranteeing that all files are kept as up-to-date as possible.

Take Backups as Frequently as Possible
In the event your organization suffers from a disaster, you want to make sure that your backups are as recent as possible. This is to make sure that you lose as little progress as possible when disasters do happen. Imagine finding out that the only data backup you’ve taken was last month. This is why we recommend that your organization take backups as often as every fifteen minutes, guaranteeing that you’ll lose minimal data.

Restore as Quickly as Possible
Let’s imagine that your organization is struck by a disaster. To get back in the game following such an incident, you have to restore your data. However, if you don’t have an infrastructure or device put in place to get this happening as soon as possible, you start to suffer from downtime. This is any time that your organization isn’t functioning as intended, so it should include situations where your technology is failing, your employees can’t work, and your organization can’t take care of customers, among anything else that your business is responsible for. It quickly becomes clear that one of the biggest causes for businesses failing following a disaster is the crippling costs of downtime.

Notice a trend here? Time is of the essence when disaster strikes your organization, and the faster you can get back in action following a disaster, the less money you’ll waste on downtime. The traditional data backup solution isn’t as helpful in this regard as a hosted BDR solution from COMPANYNAME. Our BDR device can rapidly restore data directly to itself so that your organization can keep chugging along in the face of adversity.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

How a Data Backup Can Be Used, No Disaster Necessary

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Data backup may not directly help you boost your productivity, but it is a core component of any responsible business’ continuity plan. Each year, thousands of businesses that don’t take threats into account are forced to close their doors because they didn’t have a contingency plan in place. For every business that plans for the worst there are two that don’t, either because they see the strategy as too cost prohibitive, or because they just don’t understand the amount of threats that could put their business in the position where they would need to close.

There are several aspects of a backup and recovery strategy that business owners (who do see reason to implement one) have to square away. By breaking the strategy into three core parts, your organization can secure a positive ROI from a backup and recovery system that, with any luck, you’ll never have to use.

Data Backup
Deciding on a backup platform is obviously the first step in the process. There are several strategies a small business can use to cover its assets. They could use cloud storage, network attached storage facilities that use hard disk drives or tape backup drives, or even a manual system where people protect the data by backing it up to a hard drive and then take a copy with them when they leave. No matter what platform you choose to utilize, you have to understand that if you look at your data as an asset, it stands to reason that you would want to protect as much data as you can. At COMPANYNAME, we offer a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery service that utilizes network attached storage that pushes copies to the cloud in real-time. This not only provides the kind of data redundancy every organization needs, it allows our clients to thoroughly plan their data recovery strategies.

Before we go into recovery, we’d be remiss not to mention that some data simply isn’t important. Small businesses often have a lot of data they collect but don’t do anything with, so it just sits on their infrastructure taking up space. Some businesses look to data analytics to cut down on dark data, but for the small business that doesn’t have a backup strategy, it might just be putting the cart before the horse.

Data Recovery
If you are looking for a positive ROI, this is where it begins. A business needs to establish acceptable parameters for the recovery of their data. To do this, an organization is going to have to establish what are known as their recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). Before we elaborate, we should say that if you are in a position where you need to restore a large portion of your data–whether it be because of malware, natural disaster, sabotage, or blatant negligence–you absolutely have to have these plans made (and tested).

The recovery point objective defines how much data your business could reasonably afford to lose in order to be able to sustain operational effectiveness. Recovery time objective is the maximum time you believe you can go without your data before your business fails. Each figure isn’t static throughout your business. Some of your data is more important than other data, of course, and has to be weighted this way. Therefore, some systems that hold more crucial data will have different RPOs and RTOs than less critical systems.

How the System Provides a Calculable ROI
This is where you can put it all together. How do you calculate the return on investment on systems that you hope you will never ever use?

  • Establish your organization’s hourly realized revenue. To do this you take the amount of revenue your organization has taken in over the past year and divide it by the total working hours you and your staff have logged for that time.
  • Figure out how much you would stand to lose both with and without a backup and recovery system in place.
  • Multiply the hourly realized revenue with both scenario-specific figures you’ve calculated in step 2 and take the difference. This number represents the total avoided loss, in dollars.
  • Finally, plug that figure into this formula to measure your backup system’s ROI:

ROI = (Avoided loss – Cost of backup and recovery system x 100%)

Without a disaster hitting your business, you may think that backup and recovery strategies are a waste of time and resources, but the ROI is clear.

If your business is looking for a backup and disaster recovery solution that can seriously save your business in the event of a disaster–something no ROI calculator will ever tell you–call the IT professionals at COMPANYNAME today at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

BDR Needs to Be a Business Priority

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Of any of your business implementations, a data backup and disaster recovery system is a serious contender for the most important. However, many neglect to prepare for a data loss event or disaster, which means they leave their business vulnerable to the ill effects of both. Protecting your business begins with a data backup and disaster recovery solution that prepares you for a worst-case scenario.

For a long time, tape backup was the preeminent form of data backup for business purposes. This process, storing a copy of your data on magnetic tape, is no longer sufficient for the modern business due to shortcomings that would only slow down your recovery efforts after a data loss event.

First of all, backing up on tape isn’t an automated process, so it falls to an employee to initiate the backup process when the workday is over. How likely is it that one of your employees will be focused on running a data backup at the end of a particularly long and stressful day? In addition to this, restoring from a tape is also a manual process. All it would take is a slight mistake, and poof–there goes your data.

Secondly, a tape backup doesn’t keep a full backup of your data in the first place, only saving changes that have taken place over the previous 24 hour period, technically even less. Tape backup is a resource-intensive process, and so can only be run once each day, typically after-hours. Therefore, you could lose a full day’s worth of data to a disaster.

Finally, the third reason that tape is considered outdated is the amount of time it takes to restore your backed-up data. If you needed to restore your data, the process could easily take hours–and that’s assuming that whatever event caused you to need to restore from your backup didn’t also damage your internal hardware infrastructure. This downtime will undoubtedly have a negative impact on your business, and can be avoided.

Instead of relying on tape, companies today leverage enterprise-level Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solutions from providers like COMPANYNAME. Utilizing the cloud, BDR takes data backups that are more complete and can be restored much more quickly, leading to decreased downtime. This is accomplished through ‘snapshot’ data backups, which updates any changes as often as every fifteen minutes. This means that any data that may be lost is minimized, offering your business improved protection from threats to your data.

If BDR sounds like the right choice for your business, reach out to COMPANYNAME at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

Is a Data Backup Really That Necessary? In a Word: Yes

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Does your business have a dedicated data backup and disaster recovery system? It’s one of the most critical parts of managing a business, yet some don’t have a plan in the event of the worst. If your organization were to suddenly lose a significant portion of its data, would it be able to continue functioning as needed? With a data backup and disaster recovery solution, you won’t be dealing in the realm of “what if,” and instead focus on “when” you experience a data loss incident.

Traditionally, tape backup has been the go-to solution for small businesses. Tape backup is the process of storing data on magnetic tape, and at one time was considered the most prominent type of backup in the business world. However, tape has its own set of inconveniences that can hinder operations in times of disaster.

The number one reason to not use tape is that it’s not automatic. One of your employees has to set the backup at the end of each work day so that it can run. Furthermore, when it comes time to activate the backup, it must be performed manually as well. This means that even the slightest amount of user error could completely demolish any chances of your recovering from a data disaster.

The second biggest reason to not use tape is that it doesn’t take a full backup of your data. At the most, it only captures data that has been changed over the past 24 hours. The reason for this is because the data backup can only be performed once a day. Due to the immense strain placed on your network, a tape backup is generally reserved for after-hour implementation, so up to 24 hours of data could potentially be lost in the event of a disaster.

The third and final reason why you shouldn’t implement tape is that it takes considerably longer to restore from in the event of a data loss incident. Tape backup can take several hours to restore, and that’s assuming that you still have an infrastructure and hardware capable of running your organization (let’s face it–natural disasters like floods can damage more than just your building). This type of downtime can be an issue even for businesses that do have the required hardware to get back in business, as it’s just more wasted time and resources that must be accounted for.

A better solution for small businesses is an enterprise-level Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution from COMPANYNAME. BDR uses the cloud to perform data backups, which provides a significantly better system for getting back in the game following a critical loss incident. The cloud allows for faster restoration times, less downtime, and more complete data backups. The cloud utilizes snapshot-based data backup, which only updates the current backup if the files have been changed. These snapshots are taken every 15 minutes or so, significantly reducing the amount of data lost in the event of a data loss incident. It’s truly the best way to go about protecting your organization from unforeseen threats.

To get started with BDR, reach out to COMPANYNAME at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

Do You Have a Data Backup In Place?

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Take a moment to imagine the absolute worst disaster scenario for your business. Does it involve a catastrophic event destroying your office building? Does it include key staff being absent from the office for extended periods of time? Does it include your business suffering from data loss or security breaches?

Most businesses that fail to recover their data following a data loss scenario go out of business within a year of the incident. Furthermore, there are a lot of small businesses out there that don’t necessarily see the value in a proper data backup system. Most just assume that they will be able to survive a loss incident, or they feel that a data loss incident won’t happen to them. This is not the right mindset to have for a business owner–especially not one that has the future of their business at heart.

Instead, you need to imagine the worst-case scenario and ask if your business continuity plan includes a data backup solution to minimize damage and downtime. Here are three ways that a cloud-based Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution can help your business survive even the worst data loss incidents.

Multiple Backups Daily
Traditionally, businesses have relied on tape backup for most of their backup needs. Due to the increased strain on your network, tape backups need to be performed during off-hours, and only once a day. The problem with this is that you could potentially lose up to an entire day’s worth of data and progress. Cloud-based BDR takes multiple backups as often as every fifteen minutes, which allows for higher redundancy.

Cloud-Based Storage
There’s something to be said about the cloud and its ability to make data backup storage far easier. Thanks to the cloud, a BDR device can take and store multiple backups in secure, off-site locations for later access. After all, you can’t store your backups in the same location as the rest of your data. What if you were to experience a major disaster, like a flood or ransomware infection, which leads to the destruction of your in-house data infrastructure? When this time comes, you’ll be glad you’re storing data in the cloud and away from the site of the incident.

Reduced Downtime
When your business can quickly restore data in a moment’s notice, the amount of downtime suffered drastically falls. This helps your business stay active even under the worst circumstances. BDR can instantaneously restore your data to the network-attached device, allowing your organization to quickly get back in action following a downtime incident. The BDR device can even act as a temporary server while you make more permanent arrangements.

How does your business protect itself from data loss? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to reach out to us at PHONENUMBER if your business needs help with its technology.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

Without A Data Backup, You Aren’t Ready

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Most modern companies rely on computers to at least some extent, particularly if there is some sort of delegation of services involved. Whether it’s an office filled with computers and server units, or simply a retailer with point-of-sale equipment, the companies of today need computers and data in order to function as intended. To protect this data, you need a method to preserve it–which is where data backup comes into play.

Your business’s data is susceptible to all sorts of danger stemming from malware, hackers, hardware failure, and even user error. It doesn’t take much to expose your data to something that could cause it harm, so it makes sense that you should have a plan put into place to protect it. Most small businesses that fail to recover from a disaster within 18 months following a data loss incident will be forced to cease operations, which showcases the importance of data backup. What’s the best way to combat data loss?

A Backup and Disaster Recovery, or BDR, is a great way to protect your network and data infrastructure. It’s a network-attached backup system that allows you to take a preventative stance against even the worst disasters. Since the device is attached to your network, it can perform backups at various increments automatically. All you have to do is set which parts of your infrastructure you want it to back up. Furthermore, you can set it up so that backups only occur on files that have been changed since the last one has been taken, allowing for a more lightweight solution.

The most important part of BDR is that your data is automatically uploaded to the cloud. The best part of this is that it’s safe and secure, tucked away from anything that could cause it harm. While your data is hosted in an off-site data center or the cloud, it’s protected and prepared for the worst, allowing your organization to ensure survival even under the most desperate situations. It’s just one way that preventative thinking can help your organization avoid downtime and the immense costs it can accrue.

To keep your organization from suffering due to data loss, a BDR solution is your best bet. To learn more, reach out to COMPANYNAME at PHONENUMBER.