Digital transformation starts with digital resiliency.
As businesses rapidly adopt modern technologies, inadequate data protection, rising cyber threats, and business continuity challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic are hindering digital transformation initiatives.
Across the board, businesses are urgently looking to modernise
backup and disaster recovery strategies by
migrating to cloud and as-a-service provision
. By 2023, 77% of businesses globally will be using cloud-first backup, increasing the reliability of backups, shifting cost management and freeing up IT resources to focus on digitalisation projects
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Despite the integral role backup plays in modern data protection, 14% of all data is not backed up at all and 58% of recoveries fail, leaving data unprotected and irretrievable in the event of a disaster.1
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8 data-backup tips for business leaders
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1. Review your data backup and retention policy regularly
Regular policy reviews ensures your backup strategy is in line with your changing business needs and data growth. A well-defined, up-to-date backup documentation provides control, accountability, and reliability by having a clear and consistent method for data recovery.
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2. Backup data locally
As a first line of defence, all of your important files should be backed up locally. Backup on portable hard disk or drives allows for easy retrieval and gives you control of your files. However, they are prone to hardware failures, theft and damage from physical disasters.
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3. Create a secondary off-site backup for BCP
Having another copy of your important files in a different location other than your office is essential for business continuity planning. In the event your first backup fails or if your office catches fire for example, having an off-site backup means your files are always available and recoverable.
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4. Automate and verify your backups
Automating backup alleviates the tedious daily administrative duties and eliminates human lapses. However, never assume that they are always running, you still need to periodically check to confirm that the automated backups are indeed running as scheduled.
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5. Test your recovery speed
When your business is disrupted, every second of the recovery process matters. Test your plan and ensure that the restore process works as it is supposed to. Then, when disaster does strike, you will be ready.
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6. Encrypt your backup
Encryption is a process to protect your data via a secret password, pass phrase or other types of encryption keys. It prevents your sensitive backup data from being accessible by unwanted parties, if your hard drive is stolen. If you are using cloud backup, do ensure it has robust protection against cyber attacks or data leakages for data in-transit and in the cloud.
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7. Ensure your system is scalable
Data grows with your business - it grows daily and at a fast pace. Unlike traditional storage systems, the cloud offers unmatched scalability and flexibility. Prioritising it from the start leads to lower maintenance costs and higher agility.
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8. Don't forget about data compliance
Moving to the cloud does not transfer that responsibility to the cloud provider; you still have to take ownership of this. You still need to make sure 3rd party solution providers meet your industry requirements and that you also have proper controls in place to meet your data management responsibilities.
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Making a plan and implementing it takes time, money, resources, and effort. But the effort you put into your backup plan is far less expensive than losing a client because you lost his or her data.
Need help? Don't worry we've got your back(up)! Contact us for a complimentary backup consultation.
AvailEase Managed Backup offers a suite of affordable backup solutions to protect the critical data in your servers, workstations and business applications like Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. Gain peace of mind with a team of experts keeping an eye on your critical data around the clock.
Reference: 1. Veeam 2021 Data Protection Report