You need to know without a doubt – that you could recover your files and be back up and running again fast after a natural disaster, server crash, hacker attack, or other data-erasing events.
Fewer than 10% of small and medium business owners have a solid business continuity plan in place. At Digiboon, it’s our mission to educate as many business owners as possible about the dangers of not having a rock-solid offsite backup and disaster recovery plan for their data and critical IT systems.
Most business owners don’t know for sure if all of their data is being backed up. Even fewer conduct regular test restores to ensure that their backups are actually working, and many don’t have a clue what they would do if they suddenly lost their data or ability to access it due to a fire, flood, or other disasters.
To make matters worse, almost no one keeps records of software licenses and discs that are necessary to restore a corrupt or critically damaged server – so even IF they are lucky enough to have all their data, they soon realize that data backup is only one component and doesn’t necessarily guarantee a speedy recovery.
3 Essentials Your Backup System Must Have
#1: Secure, Encrypted Offsite Backup
While we recommend that you have data protection and onsite backup, it’s critical to keep an encrypted copy of your data offsite as well. If a fire burns your office to the ground – or a thief breaks in and steals your server and equipment – or a natural disaster floods your office or makes it impossible to access your PCs and server, the onsite backup will be useless to you. And copying your data to a tape drive or other device and carrying it home every night isn’t the safest or smartest system either.
Data needs to be encrypted to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. If you’re storing “sensitive” data (like credit card numbers, financial data, medical records, or client e-mail addresses and data) on an unencrypted device, you may find yourself having a VERY uncomfortable conversation with your clients… about how you exposed their data to an identity thief or hacker.
#2: A Data Recovery And Disaster Recovery Plan
A HUGE mistake many business owners make is thinking that data backup is the same as disaster recovery – it’s not. Many business owners are shocked to find out just how long and arduous the process is to get all their data back after a disaster – and that’s IF they have a good, clean copy of ALL their data (most are surprised to find out they don’t).
Just having a copy of your data isn’t enough; you need to have a plan in place to get everything restored quickly, which is something that tape drives and other physical backup devices don’t offer.
#3: Test Restores
After you have a sound backup system in place, you need to test it regularly to make sure it works. There’s something wrong if you aren’t doing this simple check at least once a month (possibly more for more critical data). If your current IT company or person is not doing this, you can’t have any confidence in your current backup system.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
As a prospective client, we can provide a complimentary audit of your current data backup system so you can know for sure just how fast you could get back up and running in the event of a disaster – if at all.
Choosing an IT provider can be complicated and confusing. Often you don’t have the time or expertise to determine if they are doing a good job, which is why we provide this offer at no cost or obligation.
At the end of the audit, we’ll give you a simple report of findings. If we find something amiss, we’ll explain it to you in plain English and recommend what you can do to resolve it. At the very least, you’ll get a third-party opinion, absolutely free.
To request this service, call or text 914-747-5686 or email us.