We all backup….don’t we? Protecting us from deleting client lists or space debris slamming into our offices?

Through the week an agent contacted me asking about backing up locally, having a server, the cloud and all sorts of generally misunderstood techo issues.  So I asked my mate, Dennis Mills from Track Right Technology, to give me the low down (in English so I might understand his “geek speak”…..)

“Surprisingly (or not) many businesses aren't well protected.  Some even know this and keep thinking "I must do something about that."

For them, the day they start doing something is probably “Space Debris Day” plus one…the horse has already bolted.

With that in mind, here are good starting points that will help determine effort, complexity and cost associated with an appropriate data backup scheme for your business.

Why are you backing up?

“What is the purpose of your backups?” . The answer is “Der, to recover my data”, but is it from this morning, last week or last year? How quickly do you need it back?

Is it just for unplanned data restoration or full Disaster Recovery?  Do you have a legal obligation? What does down time cost you?

How are you backup up?

Do you do nightly backups or weekly? Do you need continuous backup, maybe even offsite? How many copies and how much backup 'depth' do you want? Can you just copy client files to another hard drive or do you need offsite backup as well?

Where are you backing up?

Tapes,  hard drives, the 'cloud' ? Is the media stored on-site or rotated off-site on a schedule? Do you need a  secure data storage facility?  How much data needs to be at head office? What happens when you store data offshore and can you access it in a crunch?

Conclusion

These three basic questions lead to a lot more, but if you concentrate on the 'why' then the 'how' and 'where' you will get close to a meaningful discussion with your tech geeks.