Do you backup your data? If so, how often? Do you check it? How confident are you that you could restore your data in the event of a data loss? What would you do if you lost all your data?
It genuinely worries me when we come across businesses and individuals who don’t have data backup arrangements. We came across a business recently with no backup arrangements in place and asked them the list of questions above. Following the discussion, I thought it would be useful to write a short blog piece on why data backup should be considered as a standard procedure for any business.
Risk and consequences
Let’s consider a business that has no data backup in place. Then one of their PCs, or worse their server, fails or corrupts. This can happen at any time, particularly as computer equipment ages. Sometimes it’s possible to recover the data, but there are absolutely no guarantees. It’s also a time-consuming and expensive process to attempt the recovery.
So all the data is lost. Now what? It doesn’t take a computer expert to figure out the difficulty of maintaining your business operations in these circumstances.
You may consider that the likelihood is very low, so therefore it’s a risk worth taking. Is it though? Is the likelihood of data corruption or computer failure low?  Frankly, no it is not.
The likelihood of a computer system or server failing is 100%. It is man-made equipment. One day it will fail.
Mitigate the risk with a data backup
Objection number one is always costs ‘How much will it cost? It will be expensive etc’. Putting aside the risks and consequences, which should really make cost a non-issue, the fact is that data backup is not expensive. In fact, it’s very cheap. There are two options we recommend, neither is costly.
- Local backup drive
This is a small drive connected to your computer. It allows you to make copies of your data. A 2TB drive (which is usually more than enough data for a small business) costs under £100.
Automatic backup of your data to the cloud over the internet. Most companies set this to run overnight so their internet connection is kept free for operations during the day. Again, it’s inexpensive, with pricing at just £12 per month depending on data quantity.
Aside from peace-of-mind, what else does a data backup do?
Your backup solution provides additional benefits.
- A cloud backup can be established to replicate your entire system setup. You may recall how long it took to configure and establish your server – several days. Having a replica in the cloud means that you can be up and running again quickly should it be called upon.
- Cloud backup protects against ransomware. Let me be clear – it doesn’t stop you from being hit. However, in the event that your network is locked by cybercriminals, you don’t need to pay the ransom. Instead, your network can be wiped (taking all data, including the ransomware with it) and then restored from the cloud.
I hope I’ve said enough to convince the non-believers of the importance of backups! If you’re still doubtful please take a look at our dedicated site or just contact us to discuss further.
