Backing Up Data

Backing up your data is the simplest way to keep your company safe from disaster. The backup process will allow you to recover your data if any catastrophic event occurs. While it may seem repetitive and cumbersome, it is cheap and reasonably simple and could save your company from bankruptcy.

It is probably the single most important computer related task you could ever do.

A backup is the IT term used to describe a copy of your data. It may be as simple as copying the file into another directory on the PC but more often the data would be copied onto another type of data storage and then secured in a separate location from the company premises.

In the past backups used to be fairly involved and complex processes that needed a lot of equipment to make them work properly. Today we are spoilt with the range of disks and drives which can simply plug into a computer and use for data backups.

A simple test is to designate a day the you will not use your computers, you will very quickly discover that you would not be able to operate your business, so all data is critical data and needs backing up and careful storage

  • All client correspondence.
  • All of your accounting data.
  • All emails and email addresses.
  • All your database files.
  • Your web site should be backed up, in case the web server should fail.

Handheld devices can store a huge amount of data these days. Make sure they are regularly backed up and linked to your main office server

Register all company equipment on http://www.immobilise.com and be sure to register the make, model and the serial number. This will enable the police to recover and return any equipment that may have been stolen.

Have tracking software and data encryption installed on all laptops, this will protect your data in the event of accidental loss or theft, plus the laptops can be tracked and recovered by the police.

Always remember to test your backups on a regular basis. Many companies have tried to restore data from a backup only to find the data has been corrupted and is useless. If you are using tapes or discs, replace them every 3-4 months.

The most important thing to remember if you have suffered a failure is not to panic. If you have been taking reasonable steps to protect your equipment and have a backup process in place then you should be able to recover any lost files.

Take a methodical approach to recovering the data and make sure you are happy that you are restoring the correct version of the files to the correct place. Many people have panicked in these situations and ended up copying old data.

Remember to store your backed up data away from the original computers and away from the company premises. Some small businesses use onsite secure storage such as fireproof safes. These do provide limited security and fire protection but can be expensive for reliable models and their effectiveness can largely depend on the severity of the fire and length of time exposed to heat. If you are using a fireproof safe to store your companies backups, ensure that it is ‘datasafe’ which means that media storage such as discs and tapes won’t melt in the heat.