Effective Backup and Data Recovery Methods
Every business spends considerable time and resources developing its data collection strategies. That data frequently holds the key to gaining a competitive advantage in the market; therefore, keeping it secure is essential.
The loss of data due to threats or natural disasters can result in dissatisfied customers, decreased revenue, and even the possibility of bankruptcy. For instance, more than ninety percent of businesses that do not have a disaster recovery plan and that experience a major disaster go out of business within one year.
According to IDC, the total global data volume is expected to rise from33 zettabytes in 2018 to an incredible 175 zettabytes by 2025. A significant portion of this data is produced by companies, most notably online-based companies such as those engaged in e-commerce.
The greater the amount of data an organization stores, the broader the region that might be affected. Businesses have valuable information that must be guarded at all costs. However, you might find yourself in a mess if you don't have the proper data recovery and backup tools.
When faced with a data loss or difficulty, having a current backup of your data can help you save time while performing the data recovery and keep your competitive edge.
Why do you need a data recovery solution in place?
An organization's most valuable asset is its data. The data collected from users may be examined and used in making educated decisions for a company's operations. If this data is lost, the company will suffer, and so will the customer.
An online business or insurance agency that collects client data has a significant risk and an immense responsibility to maintain that data safe. The data loss can have a negative impact on business operations and need an additional step in the recovery procedure for the client.
A new wave ofprivacy legislation has thrown organizations into a state of increased urgency to safeguard their customers' personal datafrom unauthorized access. Failing to comply might result in severe fines and other punishments. Every company should have a backup and data recovery strategy in place. Having a remote data backup is a common practice in most industries.
Data backup is a critical component of a disaster recovery strategy because, as the following figures demonstrate, disasters can have a significant financial and operational impact on enterprises.
Unexpecteddowntimes cost an organization an average of $5,600 per minute, as stated by Gartner's research.
More thantwo years after a crisis, only 6% of organizations that didn't have disaster recovery in place were still in business,another research by Gartner revealed.
Data loss may be caused by several factors, the most prevalent of which are human error (29%), malfunctioning hardware or software (31%), and viruses, malware, or ransomware (29%).
Advantages of Data Backup and Recovery Solutions
Having your data backed up and a robust recovery strategy in place might give you a sense of security. An organization should invest in a solid data backup and recovery solution for numerous reasons. Here, we'll go through some of the advantages of doing so.
Convenience of use
Data management during restoration is one of an organization's most challenging jobs. If done manually, this recovery procedure might be unreliable. The majority of data recovery solutions will assist you in developing a comprehensive backup strategy for your data, in addition to backing up the data remotely and monitoring it locally.
A data backup might come in handy if your company suffers a loss of data. Data restoration can be completed efficiently if organizations have a current and comprehensive data backup.
Security
Data privacy and security concerns have grown over the last few years, prompting many firms to implement more effective measures. Protecting your data is made easier by using a reputable data backup provider. Encryption is a common method of protecting your data backups from unauthorized access.
Slik provides encrypted data backup and recovery solutions to enterpriseswhile offering decentralized and distributed data storage. Organizations must convince consumers that their data is secure since the number of identity theft cases linked to lost data is rising.
High-Quality Data Replication
Replication is a feature of data backup and recovery software. This may be used to produce real-time clones of your data and store them elsewhere, making your data more resilient in a disaster event.
With this replication, you can turn the clock back to your progress and start over if you lose data. Fast data retrieval and reduced recovery time are two advantages of replication. This has no impact on the flow of business governance.
Keeping up with the latest regulations
To comply with regulations like theCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act, enterprises are required to gather and maintain customer information on their servers safely and securely. Should you fail to comply, you may be subject to significant penalties and possible criminal charges.
In order to be in complete compliance with legal audits, enterprises are required by data authorities to back up their SQL servers in a data center. Maintaining a daily, monthly, and year-to-year audit of your data center's servers is made easier by backup and recovery systems that keep track of the servers and their status.
Cost Management
A company may need to employ a third-party provider to assist them in retrieving data if they have lost it. However, this may be time-consuming and expensive, and it also gives third-party access to sensitive corporate information. You can save money and keep the data safe by implementing a reliable backup and recovery solution.
Enhances Customer Commitment
A data breach or interruption can cause customers to lose faith in a company because they want to know that their data is protected. In the long run, this would be detrimental to the company's sales and image.
In the event of a corporate data loss, having a solid backup and recovery strategy is essential. Making a backup gives you something to fall back on in an emergency.
Steps to consider for a Data Recovery Strategy
Analyze the business effect of your decision
Evaluating your present data environment is the first step in a full backup and disaster recovery planning process. What is the current volume of data that you manage? How important is it to the running of your business?
Carry out a risk analysis
The purpose of a risk assessment is to identify possible threats to your organization, as well as the chance of such threats occurring. Some examples of these include natural disasters and man-made disasters. When completing a risk assessment, carefully use all relevant records to determine the likelihood of a disaster.
Set up a data recovery plan
This is the time to pick a specific backup and disaster recovery solution. Think about RPO/RTO, the regulations governing data residency, and the budget for implementation. Calculating the return on investment (ROI) of industry competitors can help you make an informed decision about which is best for the organization.
Plan and execute a test for data recovery
Your backup and disaster recovery solution has to be tested before you need it. Regularly testing your disaster recovery system is the only way to accomplish this goal.
If you have a cloud-native backup and disaster recovery solution like Slik, you will have the ability to rapidly backup and recover data in the event of any disaster.
Best practices for Data Backup and Recovery
When backing up your data, you have a variety of alternatives to choose from, each of which has its own set of methods. Any data backup may be simplified by following a single rule of thumb and a few recommended guidelines.
Make use of the 3-2-1 backup plan
The practice of backing up is not a "one shot" deal. You want to have as many copies of your data as possible. Consequently, you should alwaysuse the 3-2-1 backup methodfor data backups.
The idea is to make three copies of your data and store them on a minimum of two different storage systems. One of those copies is kept in a remote location, preferably in a decentralized cloud storage network.
Maintain consistent backups at all times
The more time elapses between the data backups, the greater the risk of losing data. Always remember to create backups consistently.
Backing up application data is particularly challenging on mobile devices due to the frequent changes. A data backup solution is needed that backs up often, daily, or more frequently by activating auto-updates.
Always choose extra storage space
If you just backup the data you can't afford to lose, you'll save money in the long run. However, data storage is rather inexpensive, so why not back up all of your files?
Consider which data storage solutions make the most sense for each kind of data. For example, you may lose a physical data backup like removable media during a flood or earthquake. In contrast, decentralized cloud-based data will be safe, so you may consider keeping your most sensitive data there.
Ultimately, there's no need to choose between a local backup and a cloud backup. Choosing both options is the safest bet you can make since the more locations where your data is backed up, the better.
It is impossible to prevent data loss, but it is possible to reduce the negative effects of data loss by implementing the appropriate solution. A decentralized storage-based data recovery solution can be beneficial for a company to remain compliant, recover lost data, and maintain a secure encrypted backup of their corporate data.