Choosing the Right Data Backup Plan for Your Business

Data protection and information security have become synonymous in the sense that they are both considered to be modern business processes. Trying to operate a business that relies on digital data requires adequate IT security planning and execution. What you need is a strategy that provides maximum protection without getting in the way of business operations or productivity.

When our SynchroNet IT security consultants perform a system audit, they pay close attention to data protection. Invariably, they will recommend a data backup strategy to all business owners, but the type of strategy to be applied will be based on factors such as existing security measures, compliance requirements, sensitivity of records, data storage options, disaster recovery options, and business continuity.

Depending on the analysis of the security audit, SynchroNet specialists may recommend the following:

* Full
* Differential
* Incremental
* Mirror

Three of the aforementioned data backups have been used since before the advent of the internet. Mirroring is a type of backup that relies on redundancy to provide the ultimate in business continuity, but it sometimes requires specific hardware in addition to internet connections.

The modern trend of cloud data backup services has given us more technology choices such as bare metal backups, which make copies of not just data files but also the full server configuration and operating system. When you add remote images and virtual desktops, you will be able to boot up office computers even when your physical or cloud servers are be wiped out by natural disaster such as hurricanes.

Although it would be easy to recommend bare metal data backups to all SynchroNet clients, the reality is that not all business owners need them. Some clients can take advantage of cloud strategies that start out with a full backup and then switches to incremental sessions for maximum speed and cost savings. Other clients may need physical backups with strong data encryption because they work with sensitive information; security companies and law firms that work with high profile clients come to mind in this regard.

What is more important about data backups is that their integrity and recovery can be ascertained. At SynchroNet, we do not complete a data backup order until we are able to determine data is being thoroughly copied and verified as it is stored in a safe location. We then test data recovery scenarios to ensure they all work. This is a matter of heuristics, which means testing according to real-life scenarios such as remotely booting into a cloud workstation even though the servers and terminals no longer exist.