Is your business’ back up and disaster recovery plan up to speed?

Your systems probably hold a few Terabytes’ worth of CRM and vendor data, billing and payroll history, legal and other documents. You generate vast amounts of new data daily. Yet, if you’re like 40% of small-to-medium sized companies, you don’t back up that gold at various points throughout the day. Or you assume it’s backing up…but you’re not sure.

If you’ve dodged a data disaster so far, consider yourself lucky. Roughly 40% of companies that cannot recover data within 24 hours of an outage shut their doors within 24 months (Gartner). What would happen to your business if essential data were wiped? How long could you continue operating? What would it cost to rebuild your systems and win back clients? How do you prevent a recurrence?

You may think your back up is doing its job, only to learn too late that your data wasn’t fully protected. Unless you can say with absolute certainty that your back up systems are right-sized and reliable, it’s time for a critical update. Here’s what you need to consider.

Download your free copy of our Disaster Recovery Checklist here to assess your company’s ability to recover if disaster strikes!

Rethink Your Disaster Recovery Needs

Your back up is insurance against data loss and outages that could put you out of business, so give it the urgency it deserves. Start by evaluating your company’s needs and retool from there.

First, identify what you need to back up and how long to hold it:

• Do you need financials and CRM or just client files and emails?
• Is six months enough, or do you need seven years?
• What compliances do you need to adhere to? How frequently do you need to back up?
• How much data loss is acceptable – an hour, a day or a week’s worth?
• How long can you withstand an outage?
• If everything goes down on a Monday, can your business survive if you don’t recover all of your data until Friday?

Unfortunately most people think as long as you have a back up in place, retrieving data post disaster is as simple as pushing a button. But if you experience a catastrophe – from a disgruntled employee deleting their emails and client files, to a full-blown data hack – the type of back up determines how long it takes to recover that data. Make sure that the system you have in place actually aligns with your needs.

Back Up & Storage: Local, Cloud, or Both?

A hybrid approach, combining a local appliance and the cloud, can yield excellent results.

Local-only back up has become relatively inexpensive, but they can be limited. They also are at risk if there’s an unforeseen event, like a flood or fire. If your server is destroyed, so is your back up. Adding the cloud gives you limitless storage, extra protection, and provides access to critical data from virtually anywhere. Reductions in bandwidth and storage costs along with competition have made the cloud more affordable than ever. And when you consider the cost of a data wipe, the security you gain is well worth the expense.

Going hybrid also gives you tremendous flexibility. You can store and back up locally, then selectively upload to the cloud. This enables you to recover and retrieve data as the situation demands. For example, you can instantaneously pull a large cache of historical data from the cloud and capture a smaller batch of CRM data off your local server. Or if you’re in a highly regulated industry, you might retain sensitive information in-house and keep less-sensitive data in the cloud.

Download a Free Disaster Recovery Checklist

Please click the button below to receive a complimentary copy of Advance’s Disaster Recovery Checklist! This 6-point checklist will help you determine your next step after disaster has struck your organization. Or, simply use this as a tool to check in on the health of your current disaster recovery plan.

Related Articles:

A Fully Managed IT Services Provider Can Revolutionize Your IT
Secure Your Company’s Data Anywhere With Mobile Device Management
Is Cloud Computing Right for Your Business?