How well do you know your backup routine?
Is your business sufficiently protected against data loss? Simply backing up your data isn’t enough – do you review and monitor your backups and take a backup off-site?
A good functioning backup allows a business owner or manager to have peace of mind. It’s important to know you are protected not only when a malicious attack happens to the computer network, but also when a file is accidentally deleted or modified. When disaster strikes, a good working backup allows you to be up and running again with minimal downtime.
Backup best practices
It is recommended that you not only perform your backup on a daily basis, but also keep multiple versions of these backups. This will ensure that you can restore files from the most recent backup, or go back to an earlier version if required.
Backups should not remain in the same building as the data they are backing up. At least one backup should be taken off-site at all times, either by means of external drives or RDX tape backups. We recommend a minimum of two external drives/RDX Tapes in your backup rotation.
Backups are not “set and forget” – they need to be monitored and tested regularly. There are many ways to approach this, but a good example of a simple backup test plan can look like this:
- Weekly – simple file restore, to test that a single file or small group of files can be successfully recovered.
- Monthly – full restore, to test that all files can be restored, from multiple points in time.
- Bi-annually – complete disaster recovery, simulating an entire system destruction (e.g. fire or flood). Involves restoring entire operating system, software and database back up to rebuild a functioning system.
Recommended backup solutions
There are many excellent backup products available today, including scheduling software and large storage devices. Your local IT Technician or your Managed Services Provider will have a preferred backup solution. If you are unsure if your current setup is suitable, speak to them today for their recommendation.
If your system is hosted on a cloud server, it is common for a managed backup solution to be part of this service. However, we recommend you still don’t leave it to chance. If you are unsure, ask your service provider about their backup strategy, and what the DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) looks like.
When it comes to daily backups, it is critical to make sure that the correct files are being included in the backup. If you, or your Technician, would like some advice from Foresiight specifically regarding the correct database folders and files to include in your backups, please don’t hesitate to contact the Support team on (07) 3356 2772.
In summary:
- Plan your back strategy with your IT Technician or Cloud Hosting service provider
- Use quality software and hardware – your business depends on it!
- Keep at least one backup off-site at all times
- Monitor your daily backup reports, have a test plan in place, and stick to it
- Speak to the Foresiight team for advice on specific files & folders to backup