If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything—besides the fact that people can be just as effective working from home as they can be from the office—it’s that it pays to be prepared for the worst. Despite a general knowledge of the virus’s existence ahead of time, the outbreak spreading to this country proved we were unprepared for its arrival in many ways. Disaster recovery is no different for businesses in this respect. While we’re fully aware that natural disasters, human error, file corruption, equipment failure, cyberattacks, and even simple accidents can lead to catastrophic data loss, many companies aren’t prepared for a data disaster that could potentially put them out of business. Is yours?
Businesses must understand the risks these types of events pose for their data, and consequently, their future. Once this understanding is gained, they must protect their data to ensure one of these events doesn’t cripple their operation. Here are some ways to prepare your business and its data from these threats.
Begin planning ahead of time – Don’t wait for a natural disaster or some other significant negative event to wipe out your data—by then, it will be too late. Be proactive about disaster recovery; if you don’t have a plan and protection in place yet, there’s no better time to get started than today. The future of your business depends on being prepared to resume after a disruption.
Implement regular data backups – A company’s data is its lifeblood, and it must be protected at all costs. To adequately do so, your data should be regularly backed up so it can be restored in the event of a disaster. At the very least, keep a copy of your critical data backed up locally. This method is not ideal, but it’s an economical approach that any business can afford. Ideally, you’ll want to follow the ‘3-2-1 rule,’ by which you keep three copies of your data on at least two different storage devices, one of them residing offsite in another location.
Partner with a professional – Few businesses can afford to have their own in-house IT team. Even if yours does, it still might not be equipped to adequately protect your data and restore it in the event of a disruption. By partnering with a Managed Services Provider (MSP), you’ll entrust the backup and safety of your precious data to a team of trained, certified, and experienced IT professionals. By doing so, you’ll ensure redundancy with a comprehensive data backup system that will minimize downtime and protect your business’s future.
Is your business prepared to bounce back from a disaster? If not, contact us today to learn more about how our backup and recovery services are more than an ounce of prevention.