When it comes time to restore data from a backup, you want to feel confident that your data is going to be there, this is why it's critical to test your backups regularly, this could be once a month and can be added to your DYI Maintenance register. If you were to adopt the Grandfather-father-son backup scheme and you had a corrupted backup in the cycle that was never picked up, there is a real potential for significant data loss,...
Storing data offsite refers to geographically separating data from its main data source, or it can mean storing data somewhere that's not in your office, like the cloud. These days cloud storage is very popular due to its ease of access, however storing data in the cloud comes with some considerations around security, a more security conscious method of storing data online would be data-centre storage or a private-cloud, which is similar to the traditional cloud (some would argue exactly...
Looking for new IT systems can be daunting and the options seem to change constantly, so we will boil it down into 4 simple steps that will help you narrow down which system is best for you business. Create a list of what the new system needs to achieve. Collect staff input with Observations, Surveys or Interview to understand how a new system would make their job more efficient and their pain-points with the current system. List all the...
We recommend keeping duplicates of data backups in different geographical locations for safekeeping, it is critical that data is encrypted to prevent someone from viewing the content. You should also consider what type of backup media you are going to use, each has its limitations and some can become very expensive to maintain. Backup Storage Options: Portable USB hard drives are the most common and cost-effective way to store large backup files, these drives are fast and can be reused...
To ensure your data is safe it should be sent to various locations for safekeeping, however transporting data can be risky business, if the backups aren’t encrypted you run the risk of someone viewing your data, the risk increases when staff are asked to take data home with them on USB hard-drives, sometimes these drives get left in cars or knocked around in transport, which can cause data loss. Moving data to the cloud (in addition) will provide robust...
You wouldn’t perform Internet banking without encrypting your traffic, the same goes for your backup data, encryption is the only way to prevent someone from finding or stealing one of your backup files and viewing all the content with it. Have you considered what would happen if your IT guy gets hit by a bus, do you have all the “keys” need to decrypt your data? Adding encryption to your backup data can be performed during the backup process and most...
When backing up data, it’s important to understand exactly which data needs to be backed up, you can do this by making note of each system or platform you use on a daily and monthly basis and noting down how critical that system/platform is to your business, from there you can determine if there is critical data within that system/platform that needs to be backed up. You may need to ask key staff from different departments which systems/platforms they use...
Data backups are never straightforward and it's not uncommon to have multiple software packages and methods backing up your data, this makes documentation of backups even more critical in understanding which data needs to be backed up. When approaching backups, we should consider the below items, you may want to add these to your backup plan: What Systems/Platforms are you backing up? Do these systems/platforms use different backup methods or software? How many days old can your backup be, before...
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