IT advice article: Backups – ensuring your company data is safe. IT, Computer and Corporate Network Advice from Finn Consultants – Bude in Cornwall, Holsworthy in Devon and Exeter in Devon

Backups are a process of taking copies data so that they can be restored at a later date. A backup is generally your last line of defence but still an essential part of data security because:

o People can accidentally delete files
o Files can become corrupt
o ‘Acts of God’ or Natural disasters can occur; such as fire & flood
o Theft of hardware
o Computer & Server Failures can occur

When files are accidentally deleted it can be days, weeks, months or even years until it is noticed. Files can become corrupt during use, by virus (or other malware infection) or due to hardware problems, again like deletions it may be either immediately noticed or noticed when it is required sometime later. Therefore consideration must be given to how long to keep backups before deleting them.

Natural disasters & thefts are a worry for all organisations; computers and servers can be stolen or damaged by disasters such as fire or flood. Obviously placing critical equipment such as servers in a secure room, ideally above ground level (away from river flooding) and not near or under boilers, water pipes or tanks is a good preventative measure, but however prepared these problems can occur. Regular backups taken or transferred off-site (with secure encryption and passwords) will help to protect your data should such a problem occur.

There are many forms of backup including:

o Tape Backup – off-site & considered most secure but slower to restore data (useful for Archiving)
o Internet Backups – off-site, low cost and convenient, but not ideal for large volumes of data
o USB drive/key – fast backup & recovery, can be taken off site, multiple drives required
o CD/DVD – low volume backups, fast, but easy to damage and low volume
o Online Backups (to different computers on the network) – fast backup/recovery, always on-site, useful for single file recovery

Designing a backup and disaster recovery plan takes experience and understanding of the organisation’s needs. Finn Consultants can advise and implement the relevant solutions to suit your budget, recovery and regulatory requirements, call us now.