This week on the blog, we’re talking about something that could be vital to your business’s continued existence: data backups.
Now before you close this tab and move on with your day, hold on: we get it. Data backup and recovery isn’t the most interesting topic in the world—not anywhere close.
But in terms of business importance, it’s right up there at the top of the list.
Consider these 3 reasons why your business absolutely needs to be backing up data.
But first—what’s a data backup anyway?
What Is a Data Backup?
A data backup is any copy of the data on a device or system that can be used to restore information and functionality if the device or system stops functioning (whether due to theft, sabotage, failure, disaster, or any other scenario).
At home, data backups usually live on an external hard drive sitting in a drawer, or they live on a consumer-oriented cloud service (like iCloud, Google Drive, Carbonite, and so forth).
At work, data backups can be local (on your premises, like on a secondary server) or cloud-based; either way, the backup data lives on a different drive, server, or device than the primary location. With a properly functioning backup in place, you can replace or restore any device to exactly what it looked like when you last backed it up.
So, with that out of the way: here are 3 reasons you can’t afford to skip this piece of your IT strategy.
1. Data Backup Protects Against Cyberattacks and Ransomware
First up, strong data backup policies are one of the best hedges against the threat of a ransomware or cyber-attack.
Don’t get us wrong: you should take other steps to secure your systems. But when those other steps fail, a proper backup is the difference between catastrophic failure and merely a really bad day (or week).
That’s because typically the worst thing a cyberattack or ransomware attack can do is cripple a system or lock an organization out of its data. That’s always a bad thing—but it’s a lot less bad if you have a usable copy of all that data somewhere else. You may be stuck buying a new server or dealing with a period of marked downtime, but you can recover.
Without a backup, could you?
2. Data Backup Helps Your Business Survive Disaster
Along the same lines, data backup gives you a way to survive disaster. We don’t get tons of disaster-like weather in our region, but buildings do catch on fire or flood.
Imagine a single-location business that keeps all its data on the server on their premises. What happens if that server gets dropped in the river or burnt to a crisp? How will the business continue operating?
Here again, a quality data backup — one that you can reliably restore from — allows a disaster to be a disaster, not an existential threat to your business.
3. Data Backup Keeps Lesser IT Incidents from Becoming Disasters
If you’re sensing a theme here, there’s a reason for it, but still: a good data backup keeps lesser IT incidents from becoming business-disrupting disasters.
- Those mission-critical files that get accidentally deleted
- The failed system update that leaves all your employees’ computers barely functional
- A server replacement or cloud migration gone awry
With a working backup strategy, each of these is a massive headache. Without one, each could become a business disaster, if not an existential threat.
Build a Better Backup Strategy with Blue Ridge Technology
To sum up: you need a data backup strategy. If you don’t have one, don’t wait: get one right away. If you do have one, but it’s been awhile since anyone’s taken a look at it, then it’s time to test it and make sure it’s functioning like it should.
No matter where you’re at right now, we can help. Reach out to our team to discuss your needs!
Download our in-depth guide on backups to learn more on how we can get you covered!