Don't Forget About Your Backups
Backups are an essential part of every organization's ability to function. They provide a fail-safe if some type of issue were to occur. Despite that, many people have forgotten about them during this pandemic facing our world.
The pandemic, however, makes these backups more important now than ever before. If something were to go wrong now, it would only compound existing issues if there are no backups to mitigate down time and the need to recreate lost files and information.
Backup Types May Affect Your Changes During Pandemic
There are many types of backups that businesses may have and they all still require some level of maintenance. If you are using a cloud-based backup system, then as long as your internet connection is up, your backups should be active. This method is rather ideal for a situation that many now face today when no one is able to be on-site.
If you are using a local backup to an external drive that is normally rotated, then this still needs to be done to keep the backups current. If local rules allow it, you should consider going on-site to do the swap.
As always, please be sure to check the status of your backups regardless of how they are being performed.
What Type Is Best For You?
The different types
of backups all have different advantages and disadvantages, so deciding which best fits for you is key.
Cloud backups tend to require less direct maintenance and can allow for more frequent backups. These types of backups can also allow unlimited storage, so may be more helpful to organizations with large amounts of files, users, etc. And since the data is backed up to the cloud there is no need to rotate local backup off-site. The downfall in many cases is that the cost is higher.
On-site is a lower cost solution because the backups will need to be managed by the organization and will require members of the organization to rotate out different drives to maintain backups. If the issue takes down the server that the backup drive is connected to, the chances are that the backup drive will also be affected.
The more drives an organization has for this, the more times they can rotate and the more places those backups can be stored offsite. It may also allow for day-old backups to be kept offsite instead of week-old backups. Of course, each additional drive costs more and results in further work needing to be done to rotate the drives regularly.
A more comprehensive strategy is to incorporate both onsite and cloud backup into your data protection program.
We're Here To Help
The right decision for your organization is one that will need to be made by each organization themselves - there is no "one size fits all" method. We are here to help you with all your IT needs, including backups, so feel free to call into the office or send an email to service@ridgesupport.com if you have questions about your backup routines or would like assistance in establishing or adjusting your routines.
