Most business owners are aware that it is critical to keep a backup of their data. But how often should you backup and what type of technology should you use? As we are in the information age, it is really not that hard to find a solution for a problem, but the big question remains. Is it really was the right solution? Often this is not determined until a critical point arises and your solution fails. The same concept is true for your backup solution. The question of which solution is the right solution is a difficult one. It depends on your nature of business, your environment, your budget and of course on the amount of data which needs to be backed up. I have seen it plenty of times. Businesses don’t have any backups and their computer or server crashes and they lose all their data. However, some businesses understand the importance of a backup system and therefore have one in place. Although, there is a difference between having a backup solution and having a fully functioning backup solution.

I have witness the comfort of a company with a backup solution after a systems crash or hard drive failure. In those cases, someone has setup a backup solution a few years ago and left it at that. I have witness backup solutions where the power has been disconnected from the backup device for more than half a year. I have seen businesses run their backups every day, but storing the wrong data. I have seen corrupted backup data and firms which have outgrown the maximum capacity of their backup medium over a year ago, thus only backing up 60% of their data. What I am trying to say is that problems can occur with backup solutions and they can be very costly. They can cost you years of work and sometimes they can even cost you your business. Although, the one time setup of automated backups that run forever solutions work great in theory, the reality is that backup solutions need constant monitoring and should be tested on occasion. Yes, it really is that important!

Testing your backup solution can be very time consuming, and I would recommend seeking professional help to assist you. But it is something which should be done annually. More then 85% of all businesses do not test their backup solutions. I have even worked with some Fortune 500 enterprises which have never tested there $30.000.00 backup solution.

The three common types of backup solutions are: tape backup, disk backup, and internet backup. All three types of solutions should be tested. It is hard to generalize what the best backup solution is, because it really depends on your type of business and size. Therefore, I will just mention the benefits and drawbacks of the three backup types, leaving it open for you to decide which solution is right for you. Tape backup is the historic and solid veteran. If you don’t need to utilize a lot of backup capacity the tape solution is inexpensive and reliable. If you are running a large organization and have lots of data, then the tape solution is not as inexpensive anymore, but still reliable. Tapes are rugged and solid backup mediums. The main drawback of tape backup systems is that restoring is often a lot slower then it’s competitive disk backup solution.

The disk backup solution is the quickest backup and recovery solution. This solution is mainly for small companies where all company data can be stored on a single large disk drive. The drawback for disk backup solutions are that the hard drives are very sensitive too changes in temperature, and stock. If you would drop the hard drive that holds your backup, it would be damaged. The internet backup solution is the youngest of the backup systems. This solution can be applied for any type and size of business and can be cost effective. The drawback is that you can only backup and restore your data when you have a solid internet connection. I would recommend talking to an experienced IT Consultant about your backup solution, needs, and test procedures. I hope this white paper has helped some of you to better understand the different backup solutions and the necessity in monitoring and testing your backup solution.