Remote backup: A lifeline to businesses' greatest asset
StoryMay 09, 2008
Rob Cosgrove
Remote Backup Systems
Data is the lifeblood of any business. Thus, a full remote backup plan is vital in protecting data - and the life of the business.
Save your work!
The single most valuable asset of most businesses is not the inventory of products or services that they provide, or the process by which they deliver them. It isn’t the hardware and machinery that they employ in their efforts. It is not even the building the business is housed in, nor the various holdings of the company. The most valuable asset, by far, of today’s businesses - is data. Stored innocuously on multiple computer hard drives scattered throughout the enterprise, this data is the lifeblood coursing through the veins of a business entity. Without it, statistically speaking, these companies are simply dead. A comprehensive remote backup plan can dramatically shorten the downtime associated with data loss, and thereby lengthen the lifespan of most companies.
Consider the integral role that computer data plays in the daily workflow of any business. Customer databases, electronic communications and distribution groups, forms, contracts, e-templates, online information stores, and other critical data are the virtual "tools of the trades" being plied by today’s companies. Just as many businesses decentralize their materials warehousing operations in order to maintain a backup supply in the event of unexpected loss or destruction of their primary stockpile, thousands of businesses are now turning to automated remote backup as a means of insuring their critical computer data.
What’s the plan?
Processes for smoothing the transition and replacement of key personnel, infrastructure, and other components of a typical businesses workflow can be invaluable in a time of crisis. Items as basic as building evacuation plans, documented sales and marketing plans, and established processes for replacing key materials and equipment can be used by new and existing employees to further the goals of the company even under extreme conditions. As important as one component in a star-performing division is, in many cases that component can be replaced rather quickly and according to established protocol. If a major piece of equipment ceases to function or a key player on a project team is suddenly out of the picture, contingency plans kick in and the transition process begins. While not always comfortable or even necessarily successful, the fact is that the plan, and at least a process outline, usually exists.
Now consider the processes in place for the safekeeping, replacement, and transition of computer data at most businesses. Many simply don’t have a plan or a process in place to ensure the redundant availability or integrity of their critical business data. Especially at Small-to-Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs), the concept of critical data loss and the implications of that loss are simply swept aside in many cases, to be dealt with "later." The pressures of making the sale, completing the process, or simply staying afloat in a competitive market frequently mean that time isn’t allocated to consider and plan for this critical aspect of business insurance. Business continuity planning, for many businesses, appears only as dollars in a bank account - not as a critical data backup strategy.
The cost of inaction
Industry figures show that most data loss occurs in two distinct exposure areas - systems or hardware malfunction, and human error. In fact, some industry estimates have these two areas accounting for 89 percent of all data loss in the business sector. This indicates that the vast majority of data loss events are brought on not by external events such as natural disasters, but rather are caused by the very people and systems that create the data in the first place. Remote backup offsets some of this internal liability by storing complete, accurate data sets in a separate - perhaps less volatile - environment. By securely transmitting a copy of the quality data offsite and employing separate hardware, software, and network resources in the storage of that data, normal catastrophic hazards such as fire, flood, and windstorms are also somewhat neutralized.
The bottom line
With the proliferation of high-speed connectivity, network resources at virtually any business are suitable for sending large amounts of data "over the wire" to an offsite server for storage. Security protocols of the best remote backup software products, including tight encryption and compression of the data, shorten data transfer times and ensure absolute security-in-transit of even the most sensitive and valuable data. Unlike some legacy backup processes, the better remote backup software and services usually provide the ability to receive verification notices that the backup sessions completed successfully, and also include the ability to restore data quickly, without IT staff involvement. When compared to the painful and lengthy manual reentry of lost data, which can take days (if not weeks or months) to complete, remote data backup is a relatively low-cost way of insuring that your client’s data and business can be back online quickly after a catastrophe or other data loss event.
Rob Cosgrove is CEO of Remote Backup Systems, Inc., which provides Internet-based online backups.
Remote Backup Systems
800-945-4491
www.remote-backup.com
