How to implement a backup strategy

Ok, so you have decided that you need to implement a backup strategy but what exactly do you need to do and how do you do it?

Firstly, you need to begin by working out what files and data you need to back up. This is usually anything you need to keep your business running smoothly should your computer crash and burn, that cannot be easily replaced. This would include your own data and client data. You then need to think about how often you need to back up. What sort of impact would it have on your business if you lost a day’s, week’s or month’s worth of data and work? If running your business would prove difficult after losing a day’s worth of data and work, then this is an excellent indicator that you should back up at the end of your work day. Don’t forget to backup your Web site. A lot of people take it for granted that their Web site is protected as it is being hosted. But what happens if the Web host has a file corruption on their server? Where does that leave your site, particularly if it is an eCommerce site?

The next step is to think about where you should store your backup files? What about emergencies such as fire, theft, or power surge? How would these scenarios impace your backup storage method? The best kind of insurance is to store your backup’s offsite at a friend or family members house.

But how to back up and what to use? You will need to purchase backup software and media in which to store your backups. There is a lot of software on the market, however, Windows XP does come with a backup tool even though we have not used it here at Tilda Virtual Services. Find software that is easy to use and friendly to your budget. Then consider your backup media and how much data you will store onto it. Depending on how much you have and how often you back up, you may choose to use a USB thumb drive, CD-RW, DVD-RW, external hard drive that is connected to your computer via USB, or a Firewire cable. All of these are suitable for small and medium sized businesses. Larger businesses and corporations tend to use tape media due to its longterm archival ability and the sheer amount of data to be backed up. There are no mechanical parts with tapes and therefore they have reduced risks of data corruption. The most common form of media used these days for small to medium sized businesses is the external hard drive because of it’s ability to store larger amounts of data than CD or DVD.

Once you have selected your software and media and have your backups occuring regularly you need to make sure you restore from backup regularly. You need to restore regularly to ensure your backups are occuring properly and that the files are uncorrupted. It’s easy to be backing up regularly and to think that your data is protected, but unless you regularly restore from backup to check for file corruption, you may not have protected your data after all.

Lincoln Short has a Bachelor of Information of Technology (Computer Science) and 13 years experience in systems and infrastructure. Currently working in the education sector, Lincoln enjoys playing with technology and seeing how he can implement it in the Short family household, much to the exasperation of his wife Kylie.

Tagged as: Business Management, Technology