Who’s Watching Your Network – Part 3 Data Backup & Business Continuity

While you were enjoying summer break, who’s watched your network? Just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean you’re free from security breaches, system errors, and more. Read our six-part series to learn how you can ensure your data is safe while you and your employees take time off from your business.

Does your business have proper data backup policies in place? Infrequent tape backups and other traditional methods are no longer secure enough to keep your system protected. Secure copies of your important business data act as your last line of defense against attacks and massive data loss. Even if you have some type of backup system in place, it likely is not enough to support your business in the event of an emergency. In addition to data backups, it’s recommended that all enterprises have a business continuity solution.

Managed business continuity and disaster recovery services can alleviate the pressure business owners have in identifying the best cloud strategy for their needs and making sure they are following all required regulations. A dedicated team helps by conducting research to identify the best hardware and software solutions, as well as executing all of the technical components needed for continuity. These managed services allow businesses to focus on their own goals and not worry about IT.

Businesses need a dedicated team and system to keep things constantly backed up and stored properly. This can take a lot of time, both in updating the backups and finding the right storage solution. No in-house team can work 24/7 which is why managed backup and continuity services are necessary.

Even if you are diligent with backups, accidents happen. Data loss is unfortunately a common occurrence for businesses of all sizes. These errors occur due to a variety of circumstances, including human error, server failure, and network outages. Maintaining the right system to prepare for these incidents can make the difference between keeping your business in operation, and costly downtime.

Data loss is not the only thing businesses need to be worried about. These disasters can put more than just data at risk, especially if there is no business continuity solution in place. A security incident can cause a chain reaction with your data, impacting productivity, profitability, and your ability to serve customers.

If you’re relying on tape backups, you might want to find another solution. Unfortunately, over 50% of tape backups fail, leaving over 50% of businesses who count on these backups left with nothing when the worst occurs. Tape backups are particularly vulnerable because they are stored in one location. If something happens to that storage site, nothing can be done for the data.

Instead, businesses need data solutions that allow for routine testing. When systems are regularly tested, the possibility for failure and other potential issues can be discovered and corrected. Without this testing, the only way to know that your backups aren’t working is when it’s too late.

Business continuity helps to ensure that your business can remain online, even when disaster strikes. With continuity, even with the case of a hardware failure, data corruption, or a natural disaster, business operations can continue as usual, while recovery teams work behind the scenes to assess the damage and resolve whatever problem is occurring.

Proper system continuity requires more than just a traditional backup. In order to truly keep your data and your business safe, you need a service provider who can handle physical data recovery, server virtualization and other technical functions. Plus, you need a plan that keeps all employees updated on the situation, so everyone can understand their roles and responsibilities during an incident.

To compete in the online landscape, your company needs smart business continuity and backup solutions in place. Otherwise, you risk losing precious time, security and peace of mind. Slow recovery times and risk of total data loss can be catastrophic for many businesses that suffer watching potential customers be turned away while struggling to get their systems up and running again. Instead of risking this loss, rely on a managed service provider to keep your systems working correctly, even while you and your team focus on other goals or even take some much-needed time off.