How reliable is your current backup system?
Would your business survive a technical disaster?
When was the last time you tested your backup system?

These are some of the questions business owners should be asking themselves on a regular basis. Here are some of the answers we’ve heard through the years:

I just bought my server; it’s new so I’m protected.
All my data is in the cloud so I don’t need to back anything up.
I have mirrored drives in my server so I’m sure I’m ok.
Or our favorite…
My IT guy says we’re backing up. So I guess we’re good.

The fact of the matter is that most business owners do not take data backups and disaster recovery nearly as seriously as they should. IT Web suggests the total cost of data breaches will be more than $2.1 trillion by 2019. In fact, currently the number one threat to business data is Ransomware. Although anti-malware solutions provide some protection, the only guaranteed protection against Ransomware and similar threats is a well-planned and maintained backup strategy.

Backup devices come in many sizes and flavors.  The key to choosing the right backup solution comes down to your expectations.  What is your acceptable level of downtime?  The client who answers that question with “one hour or less” will find themselves with a different solution than the client who answers “a day or two.”  Of course, everything comes with a price and the lower your threshold for acceptable downtime, the higher your cost is likely to be.

Choosing the right type of backup system for your organization can be tricky.  Some only backup locally, some go off to the cloud, while others do a combination of both.  And then there is the data retention period – how far back do you need to keep the data?  The answers to these questions may be different for companies of different sizes, industries, and needs. And thus the solutions must match these criteria.

So, what happens when your most important server crashes at the worst possible time?  Some of the appliance-based backup systems will actually let you boot up the last backup and run it right off the appliance itself.  This way, no productivity is lost while the server is being fixed.  This functionality is a life saver when you need it.

Finally, disaster recovery testing is always a forgotten step in the backup strategy. Periodic testing of your backup plan is vital to its overall success.  This is the only true way to test the system and make sure the solution is adequate for business continuity.  Too many business owners discover their backup solution has failed when they are already in the middle of a crisis, at which time it’s too late to do anything about it.

Now is the perfect time to assess your backup and disaster recovery solutions, before you need it. Let us help you identify the solution that is most appropriate for your business. Contact us today to learn more.