Backups: The Right Way and The Wrong Way

Are you doing backups the right way or the wrong way?

We all know that backing up your data is imperative. Having a copy of anything lowers the risk of losing it and ensuring business continuity, whatever the situation.

So what makes a ‘good backup’?

Conveniently, one of our old blogs covers “7 things that make a good backup”, and includes things like:

• Having at least 3 copies
• It is resilient
• It is stored off-site
• Automated, checked and tested
• And documented.

Is one backup enough?

Only having one physical backup does NOT (in our minds at least) qualify as having a backup.

We meet organisations who initially feel that they have this issue thoroughly covered because, for example, they back up all of their computers (and maybe even other devices) to a single Network attached Storage (NAS) device in their office.

That is a good place to start, but it is only a start. It doesn’t allow for the fact that anything physical can be damaged, stolen or break down.

A fire and flood in a building, for example, could damage or destroy both the original computers and the backup. A similar issue arises if there’s a break-in.

And even though most NAS devices maintain multiple copies themselves, they are still a physical thing relying on software and hardware to function as it should when its really needed. You can never take that for granted.

No doubt you’re ahead of me here! I’m talking about needing another copy of your data (a backup of your backup if you will) that needs to be held offsite.

This is now entirely feasible and affordable because of the maturing of technology that is commonly referred to as ‘the Cloud’.

That ‘Cloud’ is really only a repackaging of capabilities which have been around since the first computers were networked together across geographically disparate locations – the ability to store and/or process data in another physical location.

These days though it’s a mature technology, with sophisticated software allowing both the storage and processing power to be spread across multiple devices and processors, to the point that many providers are brave enough to give really solid ‘up-time’ guarantees because there is no single point of failure in their system – if a piece fails, others take the strain.

If you can combine that kind of reassurance with automated backup processes which keep your data safe on an ongoing basis and in a state whereby it can be easily accessed and restored, you can sleep pretty well.

At Bespoke Computing, we know how to make this happen for your business, including our own Cloud infrastructure based here in the UK.

If you want to talk through what data back-up processes you have in place, we’re always here to help.

Whatever size business, if you’re not 100% confident you could recover quickly from a loss of data, find some help and advice and put a system in place to give you peace of mind.