Why Data Backup is Important for Your Central Pennsylvania Organization

Why Is Data Backup Important?

Having a data backup solution is essential for the continuous operations of your business in the event of a disaster or a cyberattack.

Your data is the lifeblood of your organization and can include documents, media files, configuration files, images, operating systems, registry files, personal customer information, and so much more. Having a data backup solution is essential for the continuous operations of your business in the event of a disaster or a cyberattack.

Data loss can occur when your system is shut down due to manmade or natural disasters, human error, hardware failure, software corruption, power outages, network downtime, or cyberattacks such as ransomware.

The loss of data can damage your organization’s reputation, cause costly downtime, and disrupt business operations. No matter how large or small your organization is, you must backup your data daily. There are many benefits to backing up your data.

What is Data Backup?

Data backup is the process of making copies of your data and storing them elsewhere so that your data is accessible and easy to restore after a data loss or data corruption incident.

There are several data backup technologies your business can employ to ensure quick retrieval and recovery to return to critical business operations:

• Removable Media – One of the simplest options is to backup files on removable media such as CDs, DVDs, Blue-Ray Disks, or USB drives. This is a practical solution for smaller businesses. For larger enterprises, this approach will require more than one removable media and more time.
• Redundancy – An additional hard drive can be set up as a replica of a sensitive system’s drive at a specific point in time, or an entire redundant system. Redundancy, although powerful, can be too complex to manage and is only useful against the failure of a specific system.
• External Hard Drive – You can use archive software to save changes to files on a high-volume external hard drive in your network. However, as your data volume grows, one external drive will not be enough. Having an external drive will mean deploying data on the local network which can be risky.
• Hardware Appliances – Rack-mounted devices come with complete backup appliances with large storage capacities and backup software. It may be difficult to isolate this device from the local network but if possible, keeping this option in a remote site is best.
• Backup Software – Software-based backup solutions are more complex than hardware appliances but offer more flexibility. You can define which systems and data you’d like to backup, choose which storage device to back your data up to, and automatically manage the backup process.
• Cloud Backup Services – The cloud offers Backup as a Service (BaaS) solutions that allow you to take your local data and move it to a public or private cloud. This easy-to-use solution saves your data in a remote location and allows quick recovery. If you use a public cloud you will need to ensure compliance and relevant regulations and standards. This solution may be more costly than on-premises storage solutions but provides greater security.

The Benefits of Backing Up Your Data

Did you know, according to Gartner, the average cost of downtime for an organization is $5,600 per minute? Another study stated that 40-60% of small businesses never reopen after a data loss incident. The most common causes of data loss are:

• 31% due to Hardware/System Failures
• 29% due to Human Error
• 29% due to Viruses and Malware of Ransomware

There are many benefits for all Pennsylvania businesses to back up their data daily. These include:

• Quick and Effortless Access to Data – One of the primary reasons you want to back up your data is to facilitate quick and effortless access any time, anywhere. If you have a cloud storage system, you can access data from any device without having files transferred to you.
• Ease of Management – Developing, implementing a backup strategy, and restoring your data, is as easy as it sounds. Having a uniform solution for the entire organization prevents other end-users from backing up their devices, which may result in irregularities and inconsistencies. This will also lead to a speedy and consistent data restoration process when a disaster occurs, minimizing business disruption.
• Improved Productivity – Time will not be wasted if an incident occurs as data recovery and restoration will be automatic. This will omit the need to rewrite reports and so on. Furthermore, archiving your critical files allows you to create a resourceful library.
• Competitive Gain – Currently, there are businesses operating without any type of backup solution, password policy, or care to increase their cybersecurity posture. It’s unbelievable to think that a business would operate like this in today’s digital landscape. It has been reported that cybercriminals have taken notice and are targeting more small and mid-size businesses because of it. Customers of those businesses are at risk, but if your organization has backup plans and disaster recovery (DR) plans in place, this gives your business a competitive advantage.
• Protection from Uncontrollable Events – When uncontrollable disasters occur, such as power outages, physical thefts, floods, hurricanes, fires, etc., you can eliminate the risk of losing critical files and documents if you regularly backup your data.
• Stress-Free Compliance – To remain compliant with standards of HIPAA or PCI DSS, for example, you must be able to produce specific data when required to. Failing to do so can put you in violation and ultimately the governing agencies can impose penalties and fines. By backing up your data daily, you avoid the risk of losing data, thus avoiding penalties.
• Avoid Double Work – If your organization suffers data loss, you will have to redo the work once done. You may have to recreate spreadsheets, processes, reconfigure systems from scratch, and any projects you may have been working on for months may be lost. This inconvenience drastically reduces productivity and can be very costly. Having a data backup plan will save you time and money on all the work you have already done.

3-2-1 Backup Strategy

According to security experts and government authorities, the best backup strategy is the “3-2-1 Backup Strategy” which is a method to ensure your data is adequately duplicated and reliably recoverable.

• 3 Copies of Data – create 3 copies of your data; 1 is the original and 2 are copies.
• 2 Different Storage Types – use 2 types of storage solutions; external hard drives, removable media, and/or cloud storage are the most common.
• 1 Copy Off-Site – always have at least 1 copy off-site which will satisfy robust disaster and data backup recovery strategies.

MicroXpress and Data Backup Solutions for Pennsylvania Businesses

Protect your reputation, business operations, and sensitive data by backing up your data daily. Just having a data backup solution is no longer enough. Organizations today need a complete data protection solution that is managed by a team of trusted data protection experts, like MicroXpress.

Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, MicroXpress has the IT services and IT solutions to meet your business goals and objectives. Let’s get started on your managed data backup solutions today. Call us at (717) 840-HELP or send an email over to sales@microxpress.net.