Picture coming to work one day and discovering all your essential business files – client data, financial records, project documents – are gone. Data loss can happen for many reasons: accidental deletion, hardware failures, cyberattacks, and even natural disasters. It’s not something anyone anticipates, but every business is at risk, and a solid data backup and recovery plan is crucial.
Research shows that nearly 60% of small businesses close within six months after major data loss. Backing up data means creating secure copies of your files that can be restored if something goes wrong.
Why Backups Matter
Data backups protect your business from:
Accidents: Deleting important files by mistake.
Hardware Failures: When devices crash, data stored only on that device is at risk.
Cyber Threats: Ransomware and other attacks that can lock you out of your data.
Compliance Needs: In many industries, data retention is required by law.
Steps to build your backup and recovery plan
First, identify critical data. List the essential files and databases you need to protect – think customer records, finances, and project information.
Next, select a backup method. On-site backups store data on local storage It is quick but can be vulnerable to physical risks like fires, hardware failures and environmental factors.
Cloud backups keep your data off-site, usually with a cloud provider like Amazon. This protects it from local threats and makes it accessible anywhere.
The downside to cloud-only backups is recovery. In the event of a catastrophic failure, such as a failed server, your data must be downloaded from the cloud, which can take days depending on how large your data set is.
Hybrid backups combine on-site and cloud options. It offers the best of both worlds – protecting your data from a local disaster, but also providing quick recovery in the event of data loss.
Automate backups
Automated backups save time and reduce the risk of forgetting. Humans get busy, forget, or procrastinate – automated backup software will run when it is supposed to, and alert if there’s a failure.
Test your backups
Regularly check your backups to ensure you can recover data if necessary. Years ago when tape backups were in use, we were called in to help an accounting firm that suffered a server failure and wasn’t able to get help from their “IT guy.”
The office manager was diligent about changing their backup tapes every day, up to keeping a log and checklist next to the server.
However, the old IT company never actually checked the backups. There was an error nearly a year before that had prevented any backups running properly for 11 months.
Plan for recovery
Outline steps for restoring data, who’s responsible, and the expected timeframe to minimize downtime during a crisis. It is vitally important you understand the true time to recover in the event of a disaster.
If you’re ready to improve your data backup and recovery, reach out to our team for guidance. We can help create a plan that keeps your business secure and your data accessible, no matter what happens.