The Top 4 Data Protection and Recovery Strategies for Small Businesses
May 8, 2017
As a small business owner, you’re committed to making sure your company runs as smoothly as possible. But one thing you can’t control is the unpredictability of disasters. In an instant, everything can come to a standstill. Fortunately, with advance preparation, you can keep your business up and running—even during the worst of circumstances.
Here are four data protection and recovery strategies you can implement in your small business:
1. Backup
Data protection begins with a robust backup plan. At the very least, you should back up the information your business can’t operate without. However, the best strategy is to back up everything. Tape backup offers a cost-effective method for protecting a large volume of files and applications across your enterprise. Use multiple tapes to backup daily, weekly and monthly and capture a comprehensive, current snapshot of your data in case you need it for disaster recovery.
2. Offsite Vault Storage
Keep in mind, a backup strategy is no good without the ability to restore your data quickly during a disaster. Unlike cloud backup, where data recovery times are dependent on internet availability and bandwidth, offline tape backup offers “plug and play” restoration. The key is keeping your backup tapes secure, safe and organized. You never want to have to scramble to find the right tapes to restore mission-critical files and applications in an emergency situation.
Secure, offsite vault storage ensures your backup tapes are protected and preserved for fast data recovery. Locked and barcoded protective cases filled with your backup tapes are rotated by screened security personnel to and from your desk or server room to a media vault for storage. This specialized facility is designed exclusively for the long-term protection and preservation of magnetic and optical media. Temperature and relative humidity controls and a waterless fire suppression system keep your media safe. And in the event of a disaster, your backup tapes are quickly delivered to your business or disaster recovery hot site.
3. Data Recovery Testing
It’s always best to test your backup recovery process before disaster strikes. Schedule disaster recovery testing at least once a year to detect and remedy any problems in your process. Your backup tape storage and rotation provider will work with you to make sure you receive the right tapes at the right time.
4. Media Destruction
At some point, a portion of your backup data will reach the end of its lifecycle. To ensure that countless gigabytes of sensitive company data can never be accessed by the wrong people, it should be securely destroyed. Use a NAID AAA Certified hard drive destruction service to destroy your outdated backup tapes. Screened shredding technicians will collect your tapes and destroy them following a strict chain of custody. Each tape’s serial number is added to a Certificate of Destruction noting the time and date of destruction. This way, you have a permanent record showing your compliance with state and federal privacy protection regulations.
Apply these data protection and recovery strategies to keep your small business productive, even during a catastrophic event.
Corporate Records Management offers records storage, backup tape storage and NAID AAA Certified hard drive destruction services for businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth and the surrounding areas. For more information, please contact us by phone or complete the form on this page.