Did you know that most businesses are only one hard drive failure or disaster away from permanently ceasing to exist? While we wish this were hyperbole, the fact of the matter is that not all businesses take data backup and business continuity as seriously as they should. At its core, you can boil down data backup to three key pillars, and with the help of a qualified professional, it’s not nearly as challenging as you’d expect.
Use the 3-2-1 Data Backup Strategy
The bedrock of any successful data redundancy strategy is the 3-2-1 backup rule, but you’d be surprised by how many companies ignore it.
This simple framework is as follows: three copies of your data in two different storage mediums, one of which is located off-site. We’re not talking about that sync you have set up with Dropbox or OneDrive; this is a much more comprehensive solution designed for business use. The 3-2-1 rule should include maintaining local backups on network-attached storage, automatic cloud replication with “version” technology to roll back to past versions of your data, and physically isolated backups to prevent lateral spread of malware and impact of natural disasters.
Without at least three distinct copies of your data, you’re gambling away your business’ future and facing uncertainty.
Implement an Immutable Backup Layer
Modern ransomware is as insidious as it comes, so much so to the point where it can root out your backups and delete them before you have a chance to do anything about it.
This is why having an immutable backup layer in your strategy is so important. These files cannot be changed, modified, or deleted, even by someone with administrative control. If a hacker manages to infiltrate your network and deploy ransomware, you’ll still have one fail-safe that cannot be touched by the ransomware, granting you an out even when all hope is lost.
Without this level of immutability, you’re just another target, but solutions of this level show hackers that you’ve got teeth and claws, too, and you’re not afraid to fight back.
Test Recovery Time Objective On the Regular
If you don’t test your backups, there’s a good chance it just won’t work when you need it the most, and the worst part of the whole situation is that you’ll still be genuinely surprised when it happens.
Most businesses will look for a verified data backup in their system and accept it at face value, but they won’t actually carry out the restoration. You’ll want to follow through on the restoration to check your Recovery Point Objective and Recovery Time Objective to determine if the system actually works the way it’s supposed to. We recommend you build out a quarterly testing schedule that includes file-level restoration, bare-metal restoration, and data corruption checks all around.
Remember that data backup is an IT function, but data recovery is a business survival function. Don’t settle for one without the other. Find out more about how you can optimize your odds of surviving a data disaster by calling us at (954) 575-3992 today.
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