Tag Archives: recovery

Types of Backup and Storage Plans

3D Rendering Data Storage Archive Backup and Storage Plans concept

What are my backup options for my business?

At this point in the digital transformation, most businesses are aware that computer and data backups are essential. The ability to restore your information and your infrastructure is a safety precaution that it would be foolish not to have prepared. If a hacker ransomwares your network, a good backup can make it possible to simply wipe and restore instead of fretting about lost files. If a natural disaster takes out your office building, the right backups can allow you to completely set up shop somewhere new.

But not all backups are equal. Backups built and managed by a hands-on IT team are likely going to have a few more useful traits and features than a default backup system set-and-forgotten out of the box. Let’s take a closer look at the differences you might see in your backups and improvements that can be made to any business backup system.

Local vs Cloud Backups

The first important backup decision to make is where to store them. Backups are compressed, but they are still huge files that contain copies of entire databases, networks, and operating systems. Backups stored locally are more accessible, you don’t even need outside internet access to copy, open, and restore from local backups. Local backups are faster and more convenient in the office, but they are also more vulnerable.

If the server banks containing your local backups are damaged or disrupted, your backups could be lost. Fire, flood, sabotage, and self-spreading malware all put your local backups at risk.

Cloud backups are absolutely safe. Cloud server storage is not just remote from your location, it’s also distributed so that copies of your backups are stored in storage repositories all over the world. You will always be able to access your backups, and your backups will be safe from all but the most insidious server-host attacks. You can even download your backups from the cloud to restore a computer in an entirely remote location.

But cloud backups must be downloaded every time you make a restoration and uploaded to the cloud every time a new backup is taken, which can be a real pinch with limited or metered bandwidth.

Automated vs Manual Backups

The next question is how you handle your regular backups. Backups must be made periodically so that the data is up-to-date if you need to restore your systems from a backup. But when and how do you take those new backups? Manual backups are those taken by a person enacting the backup process. They may be entering a series of commands or even hand-copying data from one server to another.

Automated backups are when a program runs itself to make copies of all the necessary data and then stores those copies where they can be found if a recovery is needed. Automated backups take up far less time, but much be managed. If an automated backup malfunctions or if the process is flawed, it might create useless backups while creating a false sense of security.

Data vs Infrastructure Backups

Now consider the size and complexity of your backups. There are many different ways to take backups based on how you expect to enact recoveries and restorations. Some businesses only bother to backup one server of data or just one database because everything else they need or use is a SaaS program or cloud service that doesn’t need to be backed up. Data backups are those that only include data that will be reloaded into a fresh identical server.

On the other hand, some businesses intentionally backup the entire infrastructure for each workstation, server, and network. With a more comprehensive backup, you can create an identical work environment beyond your most important data. Infrastructure backups make for faster recoveries and far less new installation setup for workstations that are wiped and recovered.

What types of backups and recovery plans will work best for your business? It all depends on how much downtime you can afford and how much risk your data may be facing. If you’d like to consult on managed IT backup and recovery services for your business, contact us today!

4 Data Disaster Types that Cloud Backups Protect You From

Cloud Backups concept. Security and safety of cloud computing

Moving to a hybrid type backup system with onsite and cloud retention policies is the best disaster recovery solution available

Data disasters are a fact of life, but like natural disasters, they are events that most businesses think will never come for them. You never see the software update that corrupts all your data coming. You never expect the rains this week to flood your building and drown your servers. It’s easy to think that malware attacks happen to other businesses, but somehow yours won’t get hit. But data disasters happen and businesses rarely see them coming.

Fortunately, you don’t have to see them coming. You just have to have a backup plan. That’s why backup-recovery plans are essential. Taking backups gives you a way to partially or completely restore your data from a save-point, like a video game where you can die and reload. And the best backups today are those stored on the cloud. Cloud backups are not on any one server that can be destroyed are damaged. They are distributed over several servers throughout the world and therefore can be retrieved no matter what happens to your company’s local servers or even cloud servers in a particular location.

Let’s take a look at four completely different types of disasters that cloud backups can protect you from.

Local Software Failures and Data Corruption

Software updates are always the type of data disaster that takes a company by surprise. You’re confident in your tech stack and are working with good software, but updates don’t always work. Especially if you’re updating from several versions behind. Data needs to be altered and updated to align with any changes made in the software, but this can result in corruption. Some companies have experienced complete data loss because their data was corrupted in a software update.

Updating the software on your local or dedicated cloud servers can corrupt all the data on your normal servers. But cloud backups mean you can bring back that data at any time in the original form. You can try the update more carefully or import your old data into a fresh install of the latest version without the disaster of servers-full of corrupted data.

Fires, Floods, and Hurricanes

Natural disasters and human-made disasters can do a number on your office building. If you’ve ever seen a glass tower wrecked by tornadoes or hurricanes or seen streets flowing like rivers with rainwater, you know that office buildings are not impervious from the elements. Your basement full of servers can flood in a storm or the windows might blow out with equipment destroyed within. Your building might catch fire from lightning or faulty wires or a forgotten space heater and the whole interior can go up in flames.

Whether part of your building and equipment is damaged or everything in your workplace, your cloud backups are safe. You can rebuild your data and your entire business infrastructure by loading those backups into new computers in an undamaged location.

Sudden Building Relocation

Speaking of setting up in a new location, that’s another great capability of cloud backups. Whether natural disaster or sudden logistics requirement, cloud backups make it possible to set up a new business location anywhere with any computers. You can build off a new location by cloning your backups into a new set of computers. Or you can quickly relocate, rebuilding your business from scratch if necessary if the truly unexpected or disastrous happens. That’s the great thing about cloud backups, you can load them to and from anywhere.

Network-Invasion Type Malware

Finally, cloud backups keep your data safe in the face of localized malware. There are several types of malware that specialize in invading your business network. Like some ransomware, these malware types invade one computer on your local network, then spread to other devices on the network. Your entire local computer system can be infected in minutes, which is most easily eradicated by wiping everything to factory settings and reinstalling from scratch.

Cloud backups allow you to do this without worry or delay. If your tech-stack is prepared for quick redeployment and all your data is backed up on the cloud, then a network-wide infection can be recovered in hours, not days.

Is your business ready to fully restore your data from a cloud backup? If you’re planning to build or improve on your backup-recovery system, contact us today! Our team is ready to make your data immortal.

Why a Hardware-based BDR System Could Save Your Business

bdr backup recoveryThe Backup & Disaster Recovery Solution (BDR) is something every business should have. You never know when the worst could happen and your data could crash into the void. If you have a hardware-based BDR solution in place, you’ll be able to return to a point in the past before your data disappeared.

Now the unrecoverable is recoverable. BDR solutions come in two forms; online and hardware-based. We’re going to discuss some of the reasons why you should search for something hardware-based, as well as why a good BDR solution can save money.

Additional Safety

Online BDR solutions are still vulnerable. A hacker can attack the BDR solution itself and take it offline. If this happens, you’ll have no way of retrieving your files. Hardware-based solutions don’t have the same problems. In many cases, your files can be transferred to a piece of hardware not connected to the Internet.

Sharing the Servers

If you’re operating with an online BDR, you’re sharing the server with everyone else. In the event of a major problem that affects multiple users, expect to have to deal with slow retrievals. Hardware-based solutions will retrieve your data in a matter of hours, as opposed to a matter of days.

And this is essential. A business that goes offline for a few days is liable to file for bankruptcy. 50% of businesses will file for bankruptcy immediately, according to the National Archives & Records Administration in Washington.

Cheap Solution Expensive Solution

The cheaper BDR solution will not be as effective as a more expensive BDR solution. This doesn’t mean a company should opt for the most expensive solution available. It means price shouldn’t become the main consideration. Opt for quality over everything else.

Quality means you’ll have your data back and your site online as soon as possible. In terms of business, this can save you thousands. Customers who can’t find your website immediately will turn away forever.

Your regular customers might also become disillusioned if your website disappears for a few days. They might think you’ve closed your doors.

And if you have employees, they won’t be able to do their jobs, but you’ll still have to give them a salary. So, you have no money coming in, you still have to pay for the upkeep of your company, and this could last for days. These reasons alone are why it’s worth spending more on a hardware-based solution.

Pay Now Profit Later

Always start by paying more for a better hardware-based solution now. With an investment like this, you have to look at the potential long-term circumstances. For the vast majority of companies, they’ll get value for money over the length of a few months and years.