There are many reasons why it is always a good idea to have a data center disaster recovery plan. Listed below are 6 of the most important ones to outline why a computer backup system may be essential to your business.
1. A sense of security. For customers and employees to feel confident and secure it makes sense to put a data center recovery plan in place. They will rest assured knowing the company has the foresight to plan ahead to deal with any unforeseen potential disaster with a computer backup system in place. Installing a computer backup system also displays professionalism and business acumen giving customers the impression that the business is 'here to stay.' This belief can actually stabilize and increase the essential customer base, helping the business to continue to grow.
2. Organization. Another very important aspect to any business is good organization and proper documentation of data. With good data center disaster recovery plans in place computer backup systems are often capable of organizing and sorting data easily, allowing access to files, which may have been mistakenly deleted or lost. This can be a lifesaver in some situations!
3. Security issues. With countless computer viruses and worms in everyday circulation contamination of your system is a very real threat. With a computer backup system in place you can have the peace of mind that should the files on your computer suffer damage the corrupted files can easily be replaced, allowing your business to run on uninterrupted.
4. Maintaining success. Computer backup systems assist in efficiently replacing corrupted or deleted files, which can aid in the smooth running of your business without adversely effecting production. Having data center disaster recovery plans in place would mean that small hiccups with the potential to slow production, could be instantly corrected not just the major disasters.
5. Make savings. Money can be saved with an investment in a data center recovery plan. Having a computer backup system in place can prevent production being slowed making savings in the longer term and can actually help the business survive should a major disaster occur!
6. Picture a major disaster occurring; your computer picks up a virus that deletes everything from your hard drive, (yes, there are viruses out there that can do this and new ones are being created every day). Could your business continue to run with all this information deleted? With a data center disaster recovery plan in place all the deleted files and folders could simply be replaced. Businesses that did not bother to install an online computer backup system would have to replace this information manually and would suffer financially for a long time to come. Imagine replacing all that information from scratch!
Monday, November 26, 2007
What Good Is Backup If You Can't Recover Your Information?
1) Business owners download and install the online backup software of their choice all on their own.
This is a huge mistake.
Why? Because these business owners are experts in their fields-like coaching, speaking, writing, marketing, sales, retail etc.-but are not experts when it comes to technology, their computers, and their digital information.
They know how to use their computers, but they certainly couldn't take apart and rebuild them. Likewise, they don't have a full understanding of how (and where) their information is actually stored on their computer's hard drive.
And here's a fact: no two computers save information in exactly the same directories, folders and files.
So how can one downloadable "standard" backup program, that non-tech-savvy business owners set up themselves, possibly find and backup all of the critical and proprietary information stored on their computer?
It's impossible.
So what happens? The downloadable backup software doesn't get installed and set up properly in the first place. Information is missed, and because this information is not initially included in the backup set, it never gets backed up ... and therefore cannot be recovered.
2) Cost conscious business owners trust their critical information to the cheapest backup service they can find on the web, and later find out that no systems are in place to monitor the completion of their backup, and no alarms are triggered when their backup is not successful.
You really do get what you pay for. Don't make the mistake of bargain shopping when it comes to protecting the information that allows you to earn a living and support your family.
Just do the math.
If you're thinking about paying $5/month to automatically backup and store offsite all of your emails, teleseminars, pdf files, prospect lists, client database, accounting files, office documents, photographs and image files, you're thinking about protecting the future of your business with the "best deal" going.
But what you don't know is that the "best deal" is so darn cheap because it's running on automatic in the worst sense of the word. Just think: $5/month cannot possibly pay for a team of qualified storage specialists to monitor and test your backups on a daily basis.
There is no team of people behind a $5/month backup service. No one is checking to make sure that your backup is actually happening every day. No one will call you if your backup stops working. No one cares. Even your credit card gets charged automatically every month, no matter if your backup completed a single time in the last 30 days, or NOT.
3) New applications are installed on the business computer, but the business owner fails to manually add these new files to their downloaded backup system, or they fail to notify their full-service backup provider about the new programs.
New programs must be added to your backup set, or the information will not be stored.
If you invest in a full-service online backup service, you will receive regular reminders to contact them should new applications be installed on your computers. At which point, their storage specialists will connect remotely to your computers, and make the adjustments to your backup set so that all of your new files are also backed up on a daily basis.
If you are thinking about downloading your backup software from the web, you must familiarize yourself with the steps to add new files to your backup set, and trust that the software will recognize and backup your new programs.
Automated offsite backup services are the absolute best way to protect the future of your business, but none of these services are psychic. Software programs such as these are not intuitive, so they don't realize that a new application has been installed on your computer. And if they don't know that these new files exist, they can't include them in your backup set.
In this regard, business owners must be diligent in communicating with their backup service providers to ensure that ALL of their critical information is being backed up every day.
In conclusion, making the decision to backup your business is an investment that can literally save you from bankruptcy, and protect all of the hours, dollars, blood, sweat and tears that you've invested thus far in building your business. It's one of the smartest decisions that you can make as a business owner. And you should absolutely research and compare these backup services.
My advice, clearly, is to invest in a full-service online, automated backup solution, with a team of storage specialists that install and set up the backup application for you, personally monitor your backup, and contact you immediately if your backup is not completing successfully.
This is a huge mistake.
Why? Because these business owners are experts in their fields-like coaching, speaking, writing, marketing, sales, retail etc.-but are not experts when it comes to technology, their computers, and their digital information.
They know how to use their computers, but they certainly couldn't take apart and rebuild them. Likewise, they don't have a full understanding of how (and where) their information is actually stored on their computer's hard drive.
And here's a fact: no two computers save information in exactly the same directories, folders and files.
So how can one downloadable "standard" backup program, that non-tech-savvy business owners set up themselves, possibly find and backup all of the critical and proprietary information stored on their computer?
It's impossible.
So what happens? The downloadable backup software doesn't get installed and set up properly in the first place. Information is missed, and because this information is not initially included in the backup set, it never gets backed up ... and therefore cannot be recovered.
2) Cost conscious business owners trust their critical information to the cheapest backup service they can find on the web, and later find out that no systems are in place to monitor the completion of their backup, and no alarms are triggered when their backup is not successful.
You really do get what you pay for. Don't make the mistake of bargain shopping when it comes to protecting the information that allows you to earn a living and support your family.
Just do the math.
If you're thinking about paying $5/month to automatically backup and store offsite all of your emails, teleseminars, pdf files, prospect lists, client database, accounting files, office documents, photographs and image files, you're thinking about protecting the future of your business with the "best deal" going.
But what you don't know is that the "best deal" is so darn cheap because it's running on automatic in the worst sense of the word. Just think: $5/month cannot possibly pay for a team of qualified storage specialists to monitor and test your backups on a daily basis.
There is no team of people behind a $5/month backup service. No one is checking to make sure that your backup is actually happening every day. No one will call you if your backup stops working. No one cares. Even your credit card gets charged automatically every month, no matter if your backup completed a single time in the last 30 days, or NOT.
3) New applications are installed on the business computer, but the business owner fails to manually add these new files to their downloaded backup system, or they fail to notify their full-service backup provider about the new programs.
New programs must be added to your backup set, or the information will not be stored.
If you invest in a full-service online backup service, you will receive regular reminders to contact them should new applications be installed on your computers. At which point, their storage specialists will connect remotely to your computers, and make the adjustments to your backup set so that all of your new files are also backed up on a daily basis.
If you are thinking about downloading your backup software from the web, you must familiarize yourself with the steps to add new files to your backup set, and trust that the software will recognize and backup your new programs.
Automated offsite backup services are the absolute best way to protect the future of your business, but none of these services are psychic. Software programs such as these are not intuitive, so they don't realize that a new application has been installed on your computer. And if they don't know that these new files exist, they can't include them in your backup set.
In this regard, business owners must be diligent in communicating with their backup service providers to ensure that ALL of their critical information is being backed up every day.
In conclusion, making the decision to backup your business is an investment that can literally save you from bankruptcy, and protect all of the hours, dollars, blood, sweat and tears that you've invested thus far in building your business. It's one of the smartest decisions that you can make as a business owner. And you should absolutely research and compare these backup services.
My advice, clearly, is to invest in a full-service online, automated backup solution, with a team of storage specialists that install and set up the backup application for you, personally monitor your backup, and contact you immediately if your backup is not completing successfully.
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