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Blog posts tagged backups
Your five-minute guide to online backup
March 20, 2014
Online backup services can be a really convenient way to take a safe copy of your company data and store it away from your main business location.
This means that if anything goes wrong your data, you still have a backup copy to work from.
How does online business backup work?
Online backup services are generally simple and easy to use:
- Your important data is uploaded to the backup provider’s servers, over the internet.
- These servers are usually located in a data centre, keeping your files available and safe.
- Software on your computer or server automatically keeps track of changing data, backing it up automatically.
And that’s pretty much it. You change a file in the office and the backup copy gets updated for you. Delete a file by accident and you can get a copy back within minutes.
With some research showing that 48% of businesses experience data loss each year, online backup can be a really effective way to protect your company.
Why use online backup?
Businesses have traditionally backed their data up to tapes, hard drives or CDs. So, why use online backup instead of these tried-and-tested methods?
- You don’t have to mess around swapping tapes or disks, or remembering to keep them somewhere safe, off your premises.
- Online backup is largely automated. Although you still need to monitor and test your backups, online backup has fewer management overheads.
- Fewer capacity issues. Online backup services are flexible, so as your data grows you can just pay a little extra for more storage.
- No hardware to buy or replace. You never need to replace backup drives, tapes or disks when they wear out.
- Keep track of file versions. Most online backup systems let you recover copies of files that have changed several times.
- Even if your office burns down and your server is destroyed, you can access your data online — from anywhere in the world.
Online backup: what to look for
Not all online backup services are equally safe and effective, so it’s important to choose an online backup supplier that:
- Takes at least two copies of your information and stores them in two different, secure data centres.
- Charges you only for the service you need. You shouldn’t be paying for unnecessary storage space or add-ons.
- Checks your data regularly for inconsistencies, so you can be confident your backups will work if you need to access them.
- Offers disaster recovery services, to be sure you can get up and running again quickly if you do have a problem.
Are online backups right for your business
An online backup service could be a good fit for your business if:
- You want a cost-effective, future-proof backup solution.
- You need a flexible data backup and retrieval mechanism.
- You need a backup system that doesn’t require too much looking after
- You want file-versioning without having to juggle lots of backup tapes.
To learn more about backups, read about how to find the right backup methods, and see the five key questions to ask about your backup system.
This is a post from Danny Walker, director at IT Farm.
Information is the lifeblood of business, so why don't small companies protect it?
February 02, 2012
Information is the lifeblood of a business. Without it, everything else you need to make a business tick - like sales, customers or profit – stalls permanently. So making that information easily accessible is vital.
As it’s so important, you’d expect the information to be easily available to the people who need it, and protected from those who don’t. However, the reality is different: at last year’s IP Expo, 60% of people surveyed by my company City Lifeline said they had lost access to their company’s IT system following an unexpected incident. Oops.
In 40% of these cases systems were down for six hours or more, bringing the business to a halt for an entire working day. Just think of all the things your business uses IT for in just one day. Imagine not being able to access your email, check customer documents or view essential data.
Losing access to your data hurts your pocket too. Symantec’s 2011 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey found that losing access to data and electronic communication systems costs small companies an average of £7,500 a day in lost business and productivity.
Prepare for the very worst
Unplanned downtime can stem from something as innocent as a workman cutting through a power cable or as sinister as a malicious cyber attack. Whatever the cause, they all have one thing in common: the element of surprise.
The best business owners not only prepare for the things that are going to happen, but also for things that could happen. “I didn’t know it was going to happen,” is not much of an excuse when faced with an angry customer or an office full of staff who can’t get their work done.
If your business’s information is adequately backed-up, the chances are good that your IT systems will be working by the end of the day. But if not, the consequences can be disastrous. In a worst case scenario the lost data can never be recovered, and neither can the business.
Some research suggests up to 70% of small businesses that lose data in a major incident are forced to shut within a year. Yet the Symantec report mentioned above also shows that less than half of smaller businesses bother to back up data every week. A mere 23% take daily backups.
Risks are part of business, but...
Taking the odd risk is part and parcel of being in business, but risking the safety of your information is equivalent to cutting off your oxygen supply. Huge corporations often have the money, expertise and resources to escape from a tricky IT gaffe. Quite often, smaller businesses do not.
This vulnerability makes investing in off-site data backup vital. It only takes a one-off incident to disable access to your IT systems. And it only takes one major incident to cripple your business forever.
If you lack the time and resources to create a backup strategy from scratch, it may be worth working with an IT supplier which can store your data securely in a different location. Some suppliers operate or have space in colocation data centres, highly secure buildings specifically designed to keep your information safe. (The company I work for, City Lifeline, offers colocation services.)
Do your business justice by investing in your information in the same way you would invest in a new computer or member of staff. Your information is key to your company’s viability, so return the favour and look after it just as well.
- Continuity planning and backup options
- Find the right backup methods
- Five mistakes you may be making with your IT security
Roger Keenan is MD of City Lifeline.
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