Backup and Disaster Recovery

You’ve invested in a Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) device from your provider and you’re sleeping better at night. That’s great, but the hardware itself is only one part of the entire solution. You want to ensure your service provider offers preventive measures and periodic testing of your backup. That their solution includes saving your data both on and off-site for greater protection. Having these elements in place will help avoid downtime if the worst-case scenario happens.

Preventive Measures

In addition to the hardware itself, a solid backup solution also has other systems to protect your data. This can include generators, backup batteries, cooling systems, fire detection, and suppression systems, as well as redundant cloud storage. You may not be able to physically head to your provider’s office to see for yourself what exactly you’re paying for, but you can read the fine print on contracts and have meaningful conversations with potential providers.

Periodic Backup Testing

Consistently ensuring the system is running as it should, will give you some peace of mind. The groundwork is complete, and the backup is successfully running, but can you recover from this backup? A managed backup service goes beyond simply testing backup software or providing the cloud storage. A good managed backup provider will regularly test and report on the health of the backup, size, and any glitches that you might be facing. Their solution should also include around-the-clock monitoring and alerting of any potential issues such as cyberthreats or outages.

Multi-Location Storage

Regardless of how safe a location may seem; your data needs to be stored in more than one location. You do not want to put all your eggs in one basket. Think about it. If the backup server for your company is sitting in only one office, that office is subject to fire, water, or power damage within that location and your data is still in danger. That’s not counting the bigger natural disasters that you may face like an earthquake, hurricane, or maybe tornado. It’s about backing up your primary backup.

Make sure that when you choose a backup service you look at all the different aspects of the solution. It’s not just purchasing the backup software and server. How are all the bases covered for either a local disaster or the big one? What if the office is inaccessible due to fire, am I still able to run my business? Am I getting periodic reports on the health of my backup from my service provider? Your company data is critical to the longevity of your business, so take the time to choose a backup and disaster recovery solution and not just the device.