Data Backup is More Important Than You Think

All businesses store and transmit data on a regular basis. From financial spreadsheets to client information to employee records, there is no shortage of data required by most organizations to maintain operations. What would you do if all that data were to suddenly vanish into thin air, or worse, be stolen by hackers?

We get it--nobody likes to imagine the worst-case scenario--but if you fail to do so, you could be leading your business right into a disaster that it has no hope of recovering from. Nobody wants to be that kind of business owner. You owe it to yourself, your employees, and your clients to keep business continuity at the top of your mind. To this end, we want to share with you a solution that all organizations should implement: data backup and disaster recovery. Many people think that data backup only has value if you need to use it, but the fact of the matter is that failing to have it can have devastating consequences.

Data Backup vs Disaster Recovery

Data backups are copies of your organization’s data that can be utilized in the event that something happens to the original. They are especially helpful in case your organization suffers from a data loss incident or a security breach. Data backup has historically been done through the use of tape. The process involved setting the tape, running the backup, and storing the tapes containing these backups somewhere on or off-site in the event that they might be needed some time down the line.

 Even though tape backup was the gold standard for quite some time, there are several issues with tape backup that modern technology solutions have addressed, such as slow implementation and deployment speed, user error, and storage space. Thanks to the advent of the cloud, businesses can automate the backup process entirely, eliminating the possibility of user error, speeding up the process, and freeing up on-site storage for other purposes.

 Data backup is but one part of a successful disaster recovery scenario. You need to have data backups that are available and ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Many of the disasters that could disrupt your operations, such as a data breach, natural disaster, or user error, have the potential to corrupt or destroy your data, as well as the infrastructure on which it is stored. Without access to data, operations cannot return to normal, resulting in unexpected downtime that can cripple your budget and sink productivity.

 As for disaster recovery, you want to aim for a solution that minimizes downtime. Ideally, the solution should be able to deploy a cloud-based backup directly to temporary hardware that you can utilize until an adequate replacement can be implemented. A good rule to follow is that you should have three copies of your data: one located on-site or on-network in case it’s needed, one located in a secure off-site data center, and one located in the cloud for ease of restoration. This kind of redundancy can minimize data loss and downtime as a result of a disaster.

Implement BDR Today

A backup and disaster recovery solution, or BDR, is the ideal solution to all of your organization’s data backup concerns. Washington Works can equip your business with this powerful tool and oversee its operation so that you don’t have to worry about how your business will survive the next disaster that strikes. To learn more, reach out to us at 301-571-5040.