There is a lot of online discussion about consumer-oriented online backup services. But what should businesses look for when looking to protect their own computers? As you can imagine, businesses face some very different challenges than the average home laptop user.
Here are a few key points to think about:
Speed Of Recovery
The larger your business is, the more money you will lose during downtime. That’s why it’s so vital that you get up and running ASAP when your servers go down.
If you only need immediate access to a few working files, a simple selective online backup download will do. But in the case of a full system recovery, you may want to consider a D2D2C (Disk-to-Disk-To-Cloud) online backup, or a remotely hosted emergency failover facility.
This will help minimize the threat of damage from unplanned downtime.
Automation
Since time is money, a 100% hands-free automate backup service will help you save both. Also, an automated solution eliminates the possibility of human error. (One of the most common causes of data loss)
Security
Make sure that your backup system encrypts your data, and that you’re the only one with the encryption password.
With an online backup solution, encryption should be done twice. Once on your server before being taken off-site, and then these packets should be transferred over an encrypted SSL connection as an added precaution.
Compliance
It’s always a good idea to consult with your legal team when establishing your data protection plan. This is especially true when handling large volumes of data, or very sensitive information.
Some good “best practicesâ€, when backing up online, would be to make sure that your data is stored in the same country as your primary servers. This way, you only need to comply with a single set of laws, while avoiding potential international legal conflicts.
Also, you should make sure that you have access to fast and powerful search tools. These can come in handy in case of a legal discovery request.
Frequency
How much data can your company afford to lose?
· A Week?
· A day?
· 12 Hours?
· Zero seconds?
The frequency of your backups will determine your potential risk. The best option would be a continuous backup plan, where data is constantly updated every time someone saves a file. This eliminates the possibility of ANY data loss whatsoever.
Although this is not meant to be a comprehensive business backup buying guide, the points outlined above should be a good start for any company thinking of protecting their data over the Internet.
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