The Importance of Data Backups
All computers and their components are subject to failure. In fact sooner or later every business will be confronted with some type of computer failure. The largest threat to businesses during a failure will be some type of data loss or data corruption. While the causes of data loss and data corruption vary, not all are easily fixed.
When a data loss or data corruption occurs, many times the only option is to restore the data from a previously created backup of the affected data. Many businesses today over look the importance of data backups until they suffer the unexpected loss or corruption of valuable data. Once this occurs it would be too late, unless the business is lucky enough to restore the data by physically recreating all the affected files from scratch. This of course is only possible if they have a hard copy or another source from which to recreate the data. It will also cost the business a valuable amount of man hours in recreating the data as well. That is if they are lucky enough to be able to even recreate the data in the first place.
If your business has made backups of all data stored on the hard drives, restoring that data will go much more quickly and require a lot less effort. It will also require a lot less man hours and tears shed over the loss that has occurred.
Today there are many options available to businesses for storing and backing up their data. Some of the options available are tape drives and tape libraries, CD-R's and CD-RW's to DVD technologies. There is also the option to use NAS (Network Area Storage) and SAN (Storage Area Networks) and even remote backups over the internet. Even Windows XP/Server 2003 offers a restore point in case your system becomes corrupted. Of course just having these tools available to you is not enough. They need to be used properly and on a continuous basis to be effective.
Sooner or later all systems will face some type of failure that will require a restore from backup. The point is to perform those backups so they are there when you need them.
It is recommended that you sit down with your systems administrator to create a backup plan for your business immediately if you have not done so already. Also recommended, is that you review your backup plan yearly as well. When discussing your backup plan there are certain options to consider. Such as how often to perform the backups and what type of backup media is best suited for your business. Depending on your type of business and how much your data changes from day to day you may want to perform backups weekly, daily, or several times per day. For most small to mid-sized businesses I would recommend a full backup once per week with incremental backups at the end of each work day.
You will also want to consider whether or not to keep some of your backups off site in the case your business is affected by some type of natural or man made disaster. In addition you may also want software to monitor your backup process in order to ensure that your backups are not corrupted as well. This is a common experience with some types of backup media as well.
Finally you may also want to perform a system restore on an occasional basis so that you can check the effectiveness of the restoration process that you have set in place and to practice it so it goes as smoothly as possible.
Following these steps may be essential to your business continuity should your systems fail and you suffer a loss or corruption of data. Setting up a backup plan as well as a restoration plan will also go a long way in ensuring your business operations if you run into a system failure. This would help establish a "who is to do what" list if your systems should fail.
Failing to backup your business data, especially mission critical data is nothing short of a recipe for disaster. Nothing is as important to your business as the data that sits on the hard drives of your systems.
Copyright, Keith Erwood, Dynamic Network Technologies, 2005 All Rights Reserved
Keith Erwood is the head consultant and owner of Dynamic Network Technologies, a computer consulting and services business in New York City. Visit us at Dynamic Network Technologies
MORE RESOURCES:
SubRosaSoft.com Announces Version 7.5 Of Their Data Recovery Products prMac (press release) [prMac.com] Fremont, California - SubRosaSoft.com Inc., a software company focusing on data recovery and system utility software, announces the immediate availability of version 7.5 for the entire Salvage line. FileSalvage, CameraSalvage ... |
 Social Barrel | Megaupload: Is time running out for data recovery? Social Barrel Because the servers are of hosting companies Carpathia and Cogent, the decision about data recovery depends upon them, prosecutors highlighted. Meanwhile, while reacting to matter Carpathia has said that they don't have and never had access to contents ... Megaupload, Megavideo Data Recovery Secret: How to Save Files Before Erasure ... |
How To Recover Files Using Disk Doctors Windows Data Recovery MicrosoftFeed If you are looking for brilliant file recovery program, then today I am going to tell you about Disk Doctors Windows Data Recovery and how to recover files using Disk Doctors Windows Data Recovery. It is much more than simple undelete software or a ... |
Xerox Expands Cloud Services, Data Recovery for SMBs Channel Insider The cloud backup and data recovery services are designed to provide the recovery of data, applications and operating systems. Digital print solutions specialist Xerox released a suite of cloud services aimed at small to medium-size businesses (SMBs), ... |
 ComputerActive.co.uk | Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Home Edition ComputerActive.co.uk If your backup has failed in some way, though, Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery could help recover files that have been deleted or corrupted. Besides a disc containing the software, a startup CD is also included for when your PC won't start up normally. Stellar Team up to Showcase Mac Data Recovery 5 at Macworld Expo 2012 |
The cloud reduces data recovery downtime Kroll Ontrack Cloud computing is not only a valuable tool for flexibility, it also has valuable uses for data recovery and business continuity. If information is stored in the cloud, it means recovery from a disaster can be in minutes rather than hours or even days. |
Leichhardt extends StorageCraft data recovery offsite Government News The actual data recovery using the software only took two hours, Ms Wilcock said. “We were able to restore the hard disks and rebuild the database with absolutely no data loss,” she said. She said the council also uses StorageCraft ShadowProtect ... |
Aware Bear Computer Repair Pittsford New York DELL Laptop Service and Repair ... PR Web (press release) Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York specializes in DELL laptop hard drive replacement and data recovery services in Rochester New York. Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York can extract and backup any data stored inside a hard ... |
 Lifehacker Australia | Australia trails behind UK with data recovery Kroll Ontrack Despite experiencing severe flooding last year, Australian businesses are still trailing behind the US and UK when it comes to data recovery. The Acronis Global Disaster Recovery Index polled 6000 IT professionals around the world and found that ... Retail industry the worst in IT disaster practices, not ready to change |
Are Data Recovery Services Safe? PC Magazine The survey, commissioned by DriveSavers, polled individuals in the US who have experience with data recovery services for their companies. Most of those in the final sample set have supervisory responsibilities, and the collection of companies involved ... DriveSavers Reveals Overlooked Threat in Security of Data Recovery Operations ... Can you trust data-recovery service providers? Companies prove careless when enlisting data recovery services |
Offsite Data Backup Not Just for Fortune 500 Companies Anymore
In today's high paced digital world there is a very high value placed on information. Not just the kind of information you read in the newspaper or your favorite trade journals, but the type of information that we generate on a day to day basis with our digital devices.
Data Recovery - What Not to Do!
Data recovery is a tricky thing, and if you've somehow deleted or had your important files corrupted or lost due to human error, business espionage, faulty hardware or software or any other reason; the good news is that your lost data is probably recoverable. This article will show you a few things NOT to do when an event such as this occurs.
Comparing Data Recovery Software
Software programmers recognize the importance of data files, and thankfully, they have been able to create products that demonstrate their understanding of how often people accidentally delete or lose important data. Thanks to software programmers and development companies, people have a variety of data recovery software programs available to purchase in the event they've lost vital data.
Read This Now: Its Not If You Will Lose Your Data, Its When Will You Lose Your Data
With Adware, SpyWare, E-Mail Viruses, Java Script Viruses and Hardware failures It isn't a matter of If you will loose your Data it is a matter of When you will loose your Data! By spending a few extra minutes now using a Simple Back Up Strategy, you can save yourself big headaches later.You Should Always have a Full Backup of your Online Business Directory and all it's subdirectories for the Last 4 Weeks as well daily incremental backups for a month or More.
Are The Words Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Rolling Off Your Lips?
It might be more fun to talk about those free online business cards that are saving the company money, or those nifty designer business checks that are helping to solidif your branding efforts at the next staff meeting, but what really should be rolling off your lips are the words "business continuity and disaster recovery planning". Nothing is more important to a company than having a comprehensive recoveery plan in place prior to when disaster strikes.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Business Impact Analysis
Business impact analysis is a critical part of the business continuity planning process. This step quantifies data and gets into the real world issue of potential losses that can negatively impact your business.
I Lost It! Simple Guide To Recovering Corrupted Images And Files
WinUndelete http://www.deprice.
How to Survive an Operating System Crash
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows could not be accessed or located."It happens to the best of us.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Risk Analysis and Control
In the risk evaluation phase, there are a number of key areas that must be covered. One of the most important is to understand probable threats.
How Secure Are Online Data Backups?
Processing DATA is what all businesses do. Protecting data is what SMART businesses do.
Hard Drive Crash? The Essential Data Recovery Report
Your worst nightmare just became a horrifying reality. You keep hearing that little voice in your head mockingly shout "you should have backed that stuff up" The voice keeps echoing throughout your head as you perform a quick inventory all of the important information that you just lost?.
5 RAID Data Recovery Prevention Tips
If you have spent the time to increase your computer's performance by setting up a hardware RAID array, you owe it to yourself to invest a little extra time and effort in maintaining the hard disks in your setup. Following these tips will help limit the need for data disaster recovery in the future.
How To Use Spyware Elimination Software
Spyware elimination software is designed to detect and eliminate spyware. A large number of spyware elimination software products are available.
Backing Up Personal Computers
Backup on business computers is typically not the user's concern unless it's a small business. A business should have a policy in place for managing backups especially due to Sarbanes - Oxyley.
How to Effectively Back Up Your Data
What to backup, and what to loseThe oldest "computer expression" is that there are two kinds of computer users, those that backup their data and those that will. Often, it takes a "data disaster" to compel otherwise responsible people to make a regular habit of backing up their data.
Computer Data Recovery Options
Losing files on your computer can be a frightening experience if the files are of importance to you personally or professionally. Computer data recovery techniques include the most simple of operations, like simply retrieving an accidentally deleted file, to very complex file retrieval procedures that only professionals should attempt to do.
Avoiding Hard Disk Data Recovery Services
As a home computer owner, one of the greatest threats to your information and to your wallet, is hard disk failure. When your drive crashes, you will quicky realize how valuable the information you can no longer access is.
Data Backup Solution: Why You Need a Backup Plan in Place - Part 1
Is a data backup solution part of your computer plans? Do you have a way to protect yourself if something goes wrong with your computer or data? Computers are a useful part of our lives but we don't always protect ourselves from their loss be it fire, theft or hardware failure.We often don't consider how fragile our computer data really is.
Data Recovery
Every person who uses a personal computer will eventually face the challenge of data recovery. Computer hardware and software can be temperamental from time to time.
Bill Gates Made Data Recovery Easy
Bill gates provided a ready made option in Microsoft windows, which is very useful for data recovery.Several time we make mistakes unknowingly and we lost our data, then we need to recover the data.