June 14, 2017
Safe and Recoverable Data: What’s Required?
Summer is here—what does that mean to you? More golf? A beach vacation? Family reunions?
Business owners are particularly prone to taking their stress with them when they walk out of the office. Don’t let worry about your company data distract you from enjoying your vacation time. Here are 8 simple steps to verify that your data is secure and recoverable.
- Create and Communicate a written recovery plan. Document what needs to happen when things go south, and communicate these steps IN ADVANCE to your team. Simple? Yes. Easy? Not necessarily.
- Automate your data backups. THE #1 cause of data loss is human error. If your backup system depends on a human being always doing something right, it’s a recipe for disaster. Automate your backups so they run like clockwork.
- Have redundant off-site backups. If your on-site backups are flooded, burned, or hacked along with your server, you’re out of luck. ALWAYS maintain a recent copy of your data off-site.
- Enable remote network access. Without this, you and your staff won’t be able to keep working in the event that you can’t get into your office.
- Create system images. The little-known secret is that recovered data alone won’t get you back to normal. In order for that data to be useful, the software and architecture that handles it must also be restored. Unless you are imaging your server, you risk losing all your preferences, configurations, favorites and more.
- Maintain an up-to-date network “blueprint.” To rebuild all or part of your network, you’ll need a blueprint of the software, data, systems and hardware that comprise your company’s network. An IT professional can create this for you.
- Conduct routine maintenance. Fires, flooding and other natural disasters are always a risk, but it’s more likely that you’ll have downtime due to a software glitch, a hardware fail, or a cyber-attack. Deteriorating hardware and corrupted software can wipe you out. Keep your network up-to-date, patched, and secure.
- Test, Test, Test! If you’re going to go to the trouble of creating a plan, at least make sure it works! An IT professional can check to verify your systems work properly and your data is secure. After all, the worst time to test your parachute is AFTER you jump out of the plane.
In June, we’re giving away a Data Backup Assessment to 3 businesses. To claim yours, send a quick email to alison@holstonit.com ASAP!
