The need for reliable, authentic data backup is real -- but the "why" of choices made is often hopelessly obscured for business owners by endless truckloads of technical jargon understood only by the geeks.
Most business owners today would wind up in "rubber rooms" in a hurry were it not for their Information Technology (IT) people. How many CEOs out there actually speak or understand "Techie" or the reasons why they need what IT says they need?
No one's challenging the importance or value of a good IT Department in today's business world - but top management really should understand at least the basic reasons IT makes the choices and decisions it makes. So, in plain English, here's why online, offsite data storage should be given serious thought.
Consider how crippling (and painful) would it be if your business suddenly lost all its files. Customer data ... customer orders ... your own business data.... Just imagining what it would be like is enough to send most business owners into a panic - and rightfully so. Yet many (if not most) businesses put their commercial lives at risk online every single day -- and aren't even aware of doing so.
In a business sense, if in no other, ignorance most definitely is not bliss. With the explosion of commerce on the internet, competition is fiercer than it has been ever before in history. In today's business climate, it's absolutely essential that your online business operate without fail day and night, every day of the year -- because if error messages or downed servers or other glitches greet potential customers when they access your site, your many competitors are just a simple mouse-click away, ready and eager to snatch them out of your hands.
Your every day, online dealings with customers are conducted with the help of databases on your own servers, on your own premises, supplying relevant customer and business information. Any significant or recurring glitch in this service instantaneously translates to poor customer relations, loss of business and a sullied business reputation. Any way you look at it, loss or corruption of customer data is going to cost your business time and money - whether it's in lost or inaccurate sales or in server downtime to find and fix the errors.
Remote, offsite backup essentially functions in the same way regular tape backups do - but with one major - and important - difference. Instead of sending backups to a tape or to another drive attached to your on-site server, data is sent to another computer safely off-site. No one has to remember to do it, either; it's automatically done, each and every day.
Even if you already utilize a tape backup system, incorporating a remote backup system as well makes sound business sense. Critical files (such as customer contacts, billing data, client databases, etc.) can be kept on the remote backup system. Your tape system then can be used to create a full backup of the system just once a month or so. Doing this, your on-site tapes will last longer - and the drive will require less maintenance - while the remote backup gives you quick and easy retrieval of critical files and databases as needed.
With online backup, smooth functioning of online transactions supplying crucial customer and business information is assured. A good remote online backup service keeps your data safe and secure in remote locations and allows you to access, update, and recover important files and documents without your business suffering downtime or lost customers.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Online Data Storage Keeps Data Safe In An Emergency
A sudden, emergency situation can disrupt normal business transactions like nothing else - and that's especially true if much of ones business is conducted online and the emergency requires leaving computers and stored data behind. With an online data storage system that's one less thing to worry about as the situation unfolds, because the data is stored online and is always available to the business owner.
A month or so ago, on one day there were over 200 wildfires raging simultaneously in the state of Florida. Many of them were in uninhabited, remote areas - but at least a few were creeping close enough to a business associate's offices over on the western side of the peninsula that government officials issued an area evacuation advisory.
My first concern, of course, was for the physical safety of my friend and others in the area. But once that was ascertained, knowing that a good 85 to 90% of his sales are conducted online, I voiced concern about his business, should the proximity of the fires prevent him from entering his offices for any length of time.
To my surprise, he almost chuckled at my concern!
"I've got a million serious 'what ifs' to worry about right now," he said, "but thankfully, daily sales transactions and customer service aren't on the list."
The reason why, he explained, is that several months ago he had stopped using on-site, tape backups of customer and other business data and had switched to an online date storage and retrieval service.
In practical terms, what this meant for my associate was that a huge chunk of his small business was now fully protected from fires ... floods ... earthquakes ... from any kind of natural disaster that might threaten his extensive and valuable database and online sales. No matter what might happen to his physical plant, the business of accurately and reliably receiving, acknowledging and fulfilling customer orders would continue without a glitch.
Similarly, his extensive records of client history and information, along with all his other company data, are likewise protected by the same online data storage system.
That's because instead of sending backups to a tape attached to an on-site server, data is sent to another computer safely off-site and are always accessible via a key code known only to the business owner. No one has to remember to do the backup, either; it's automatically done, each and every day.
No human errors. No dropped or corrupted data. Nothing physical to lose or have damaged. No "all eggs in one basket" panic should something unexpected and uncontrollable occur.
It's hard to imagine anything safer and more secure than that -- come what may in the arena of natural disasters with the potential to dismantle or destroy a business.
A month or so ago, on one day there were over 200 wildfires raging simultaneously in the state of Florida. Many of them were in uninhabited, remote areas - but at least a few were creeping close enough to a business associate's offices over on the western side of the peninsula that government officials issued an area evacuation advisory.
My first concern, of course, was for the physical safety of my friend and others in the area. But once that was ascertained, knowing that a good 85 to 90% of his sales are conducted online, I voiced concern about his business, should the proximity of the fires prevent him from entering his offices for any length of time.
To my surprise, he almost chuckled at my concern!
"I've got a million serious 'what ifs' to worry about right now," he said, "but thankfully, daily sales transactions and customer service aren't on the list."
The reason why, he explained, is that several months ago he had stopped using on-site, tape backups of customer and other business data and had switched to an online date storage and retrieval service.
In practical terms, what this meant for my associate was that a huge chunk of his small business was now fully protected from fires ... floods ... earthquakes ... from any kind of natural disaster that might threaten his extensive and valuable database and online sales. No matter what might happen to his physical plant, the business of accurately and reliably receiving, acknowledging and fulfilling customer orders would continue without a glitch.
Similarly, his extensive records of client history and information, along with all his other company data, are likewise protected by the same online data storage system.
That's because instead of sending backups to a tape attached to an on-site server, data is sent to another computer safely off-site and are always accessible via a key code known only to the business owner. No one has to remember to do the backup, either; it's automatically done, each and every day.
No human errors. No dropped or corrupted data. Nothing physical to lose or have damaged. No "all eggs in one basket" panic should something unexpected and uncontrollable occur.
It's hard to imagine anything safer and more secure than that -- come what may in the arena of natural disasters with the potential to dismantle or destroy a business.
Online Data Storage Trumps Disaster Insurance
All responsible businesses today protect themselves from financial disasters via insurance policies structured to recoup loss of revenue should the unexpected occur. But an insurance policy can’t restore lost customer and other business data, and that’s often the most expensive loss of all.
A couple of years ago, when a business acquaintance first told me about his company’s decision to switch from media-based data storage (tapes, CDs, zip drives) to utilizing the services of an online data backup company, the first thing that came to mind was a nightmare that had occurred in my business back in the mid- to late 80s. “Disaster” was definitely the word for it – and our protection against the fallout from it was practically non-existent.
Sometime after the end of business on a Friday, some pipes burst in the suite of offices right above ours. Throughout the weekend, untold gallons of water crashed through the ceiling unrestrained and uncontrolled, so that by Monday morning it looked as if a tidal wave had washed us. Unexpected, to say the least, on the 14th floor of a building in the middle of town.
As is the case with most executives it was my habit to be the early bird to the office, and the sight that greeted me when I unlocked the door is forever burned into my brain. Our carpet was soaked through with three to four inches of water. Our furniture was all but floating through our suites – and even the pieces that remained stationary were soaked through and ruined. All the phone lines were shorted out. And I didn’t dare flip any light switches….
Worst of all, though, was what I saw when I went to inspect our small, fledgling IT area. Absolutely everything in the room was thoroughly drenched and dripping water, from our server to the file cabinets housing tape backups to the PCs on the desks. We had, just several months prior, begun the arduous task of moving our client and other business data from hard copies onto an electronic storage system – and I can still hear the one word that echoed in my head as I surveyed the damage: Gone.
Our insurance policy covered the financial losses – but nothing could reimburse us for or replace the staggering amount of vital data lost to the flood. Because this was in the 80s and IT departments were just beginning to be considered in small businesses, the learning curve was steep and expensive when anything out of the ordinary happened. Online data storage services didn’t even exist in those days. Our entire repository of crucial data had been on those tapes and on that server – and we lost almost all of it.
The first lesson my company learned from our flood was that we needed physical, off-site storage for our organizational and customer data. That’s how we handled backup and storage for many years following that event – but while that was a great deal safer than storing our data on-site, there was nothing to guarantee our storage site wouldn’t ever experience such an unexpected disaster, as well.
I never once fully stopped worrying about it – until I learned about online data storage and backup services. Today, my company utilizes both an on-site tape backup and the services of a remote, online backup system. Our in-house tapes are mostly used for monthly backups (thus saving wear and tear on the tapes and maintenance on the hardware) and we use an online data and storage service for daily data backups. We’re fully covered, now – and our data is as safe as it possibly can be.
A couple of years ago, when a business acquaintance first told me about his company’s decision to switch from media-based data storage (tapes, CDs, zip drives) to utilizing the services of an online data backup company, the first thing that came to mind was a nightmare that had occurred in my business back in the mid- to late 80s. “Disaster” was definitely the word for it – and our protection against the fallout from it was practically non-existent.
Sometime after the end of business on a Friday, some pipes burst in the suite of offices right above ours. Throughout the weekend, untold gallons of water crashed through the ceiling unrestrained and uncontrolled, so that by Monday morning it looked as if a tidal wave had washed us. Unexpected, to say the least, on the 14th floor of a building in the middle of town.
As is the case with most executives it was my habit to be the early bird to the office, and the sight that greeted me when I unlocked the door is forever burned into my brain. Our carpet was soaked through with three to four inches of water. Our furniture was all but floating through our suites – and even the pieces that remained stationary were soaked through and ruined. All the phone lines were shorted out. And I didn’t dare flip any light switches….
Worst of all, though, was what I saw when I went to inspect our small, fledgling IT area. Absolutely everything in the room was thoroughly drenched and dripping water, from our server to the file cabinets housing tape backups to the PCs on the desks. We had, just several months prior, begun the arduous task of moving our client and other business data from hard copies onto an electronic storage system – and I can still hear the one word that echoed in my head as I surveyed the damage: Gone.
Our insurance policy covered the financial losses – but nothing could reimburse us for or replace the staggering amount of vital data lost to the flood. Because this was in the 80s and IT departments were just beginning to be considered in small businesses, the learning curve was steep and expensive when anything out of the ordinary happened. Online data storage services didn’t even exist in those days. Our entire repository of crucial data had been on those tapes and on that server – and we lost almost all of it.
The first lesson my company learned from our flood was that we needed physical, off-site storage for our organizational and customer data. That’s how we handled backup and storage for many years following that event – but while that was a great deal safer than storing our data on-site, there was nothing to guarantee our storage site wouldn’t ever experience such an unexpected disaster, as well.
I never once fully stopped worrying about it – until I learned about online data storage and backup services. Today, my company utilizes both an on-site tape backup and the services of a remote, online backup system. Our in-house tapes are mostly used for monthly backups (thus saving wear and tear on the tapes and maintenance on the hardware) and we use an online data and storage service for daily data backups. We’re fully covered, now – and our data is as safe as it possibly can be.
The Click of Death - Hard Drive Failure
When a hard disk drive starts to click, it's a sign of impending doom. It can happen at the most inconvenient times. During a save operation, while opening a file, or when you start the computer. It happens, for the most part, without warning and unless you are sensitive to the noises that emanate from your computer it will take you by surprise. In the majority of cases it means the drive has failed completely and that click might as well be the sound of a lock engaging. Your data is now locked in the dungeon of failed hardware. Permanently encased in a dead hard drive.
On the semi-bright side, a click from a hard drive can sometimes be a warning. Taken to heart and should it occur while the OS is still up, you might still have a chance to backup your data. Miss the opportunity and you might just kiss your data goodbye. Once it happens, a data recovery service can usually recover data from the Click of Death. This type of hard drive failure is usually beyond the capabilities of a typical end-user to recover.
Platter Damage
When the recording surface(s) become damaged due to physical contact of the head bearing with the platters, drives can make this dreadful noise. The noise is indicative of the heads repeatedly attempting to read damaged areas of the media (a.k.a. retries). Physical media damage on a hard drive is akin to a pothole in a roadway without the possibility of repair. The more tires that pass through the pothole the larger the hole becomes. If platter damage has occurred the drive will only get worse with attempts to run commercial data recovery software. Eventually becoming completely unrecoverable even by the most capable data recovery shop.
PCB Damage
It's possible the electronic components of the drive have failed or circuits have fried on the PCB. While it's not the most likely cause, replacing the PCB can fix the problem. It should be noted that replacing a PCB on a hard drive is not a simple as it sounds. Locating a PCB that is an exact match can often be difficult, yet is required to successfully swamp the boards.
On the semi-bright side, a click from a hard drive can sometimes be a warning. Taken to heart and should it occur while the OS is still up, you might still have a chance to backup your data. Miss the opportunity and you might just kiss your data goodbye. Once it happens, a data recovery service can usually recover data from the Click of Death. This type of hard drive failure is usually beyond the capabilities of a typical end-user to recover.
Platter Damage
When the recording surface(s) become damaged due to physical contact of the head bearing with the platters, drives can make this dreadful noise. The noise is indicative of the heads repeatedly attempting to read damaged areas of the media (a.k.a. retries). Physical media damage on a hard drive is akin to a pothole in a roadway without the possibility of repair. The more tires that pass through the pothole the larger the hole becomes. If platter damage has occurred the drive will only get worse with attempts to run commercial data recovery software. Eventually becoming completely unrecoverable even by the most capable data recovery shop.
PCB Damage
It's possible the electronic components of the drive have failed or circuits have fried on the PCB. While it's not the most likely cause, replacing the PCB can fix the problem. It should be noted that replacing a PCB on a hard drive is not a simple as it sounds. Locating a PCB that is an exact match can often be difficult, yet is required to successfully swamp the boards.
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