Backing Up Your System’s Data

Posted by Jim Van on September 9, 2011 under business continuity, disaster recovery, entrepreneur, eOffice, small business | Read the First Comment

In our line of business, we see a lot of systems and networks. Sadly, about 70% of them aren’t backed up regularly, including about 20% that aren’t backed up at all! But there are the 30% who do perform regular backups, and the variety of methods is astounding, ranging from backing up to a local ‘thumb’ drive, an external hard drive, CD/DVDs, and good old-fashioned tape. Some even use our recommended method of remote online backups.

Whatever method you use, effective backups require a couple of key components:

1. Knowing what to back up
2. Knowing how, when and where to back up

What

Business computers generally work a little differently than with home system backups, mostly in choosing just what files to back up. It’s important to have your system files organized in such a way that their easy to back up, and that means including as many as possible in a single folder, such as the ‘My Documents’ and ‘Public Documents’ folders for Windows users, and in ‘Documents’ and ‘Documents’, ‘Library’, ‘Public’ for Macs. Mac users should also check out the article in Mac Observer regarding backup strategy, as there are options that you might need to take in your Mac backup that are different from Windows.

Whatever system you’re using, each workstation or portable should have the following files backed up:

• Financial Data
• Client Data
• Vendor Data
• Employee Data
• Transaction Data, including history
• Work product, including documents, images and other resources
• Other files directly related to the operation of your business, such as policy, procedures, legal, etc.

Personal files should not be included in business backups for a variety of reasons, including regulatory requirements.

How

There are certainly a lot of backup options these days, and the important element in looking for the right application is simplicity. You want to have your process as automatic as possible and a significant part of that is easy setup and automatic continuing operation. The less you have to think about a backup the better.

If you subscribe to a backup service, you can skip this part. Otherwise, let’s review some options:

Both Windows and Apple operating systems come with good backup applications that can be used by those who are backing up files to a server or USB drive. Properly set up, they’ll backup a selected set of files every day.

Acronis and Symantec are among several companies who manufacture and sell third-party backup applications. Reasonably priced, these applications allow users to make several different sets of data to be backed up, and more important, allow data to be backed up daily, hourly, or incrementally (as files are changed). They work best when backups are made locally, whether they are retained locally or then sent to an online ‘vault’ for storage.

Where

Thumb drives, those little USB devices that hold from 256mb to 32gb (as of this writing) are the most popular backup device for most small businesses. They’re small, inexpensive, generally perform well, and, with proper management, do just fine. The caveat here is proper management.

If you don’t remember to remove your USB drive from your workstation at the end of the day, it’ll be the night that a tsunami, tornado, earthquake, hurricane or other disaster strikes your office, taking your computer data, including your backup, with it, leaving your business without vital data. One of my clients attaches her set of car keys to her USB drive, which ensures that she doesn’t leave without the backup, but what’s to remind her to insert the drive each morning? And do the her coworkers do the same thing?

For that reason, we really advise clients to subscribe to a low-cost monthly off-site backup service. It’s inexpensive, generally costing less than $25, and often as little as $10 for more than enough storage space to accommodate the typical small business’ backup requirements.

Most vendors in the $15-$25 range will also randomly provide monitored backup services, which, depending on the size of the vendor, beans that, while you subscribe to their service, they will randomly check the backups of all customers subscribed to the service. That can be as much as weekly, and I’ve never heard of a service not completely cycling through every backup in more than 10 days. Some will provide guarantees that delineate greater frequency of test restorations, but these generally cost more. For typical users, a standard plan is fine.

Try It Out

Most vendors, Logicomm among them, will offer a ‘test drive’, generally 30 days free, or a period at a reduced rate. Be sure to ask about any promotions being offered when you contact a vendor’s sales team.

Trying out the service for a month is the best way to know if it’s right for you. Many services bill from month to month with no contractual requirements, so the risk is small. They should provide you with sufficient materials and support to get you set up and started.

Whatever method you choose, the important thing is to have a backup plan for your company’s critical data. Be part of the 30% who backup data regularly. It’s a lot cheaper than the alternative…