Backup and Disaster Recovery
Be Positive Your Data Is There When You Need It
It only takes one security breach, unexpected disaster, or an accidental “Delete” at the wrong time to make you REALLY regret not having sufficient processes in place to store, recover and utilize your data.
First, let’s get clarity on the differences between backup, disaster recovery and business continuity.
What is Data Backup?
Data backup is a method of storing a copy of your data so that it can be retrieved when necessary if your original data has been lost, stolen, or corrupted. Data backup alone will only restore your information, not your software.
What is Disaster Recovery?
Disaster recovery is a documented process that you follow to respond to incidents that disrupt or shut down your operations. Data backup is a component of disaster recovery.
What is Business Continuity?
Business Continuity is a proactive documented plan that anticipates potential threats and guides the restoration of operations in the event of a physical or digital disaster. Disaster Recovery and Data Backup are components of Business Continuity.
How Long Can You Be Without Your Data?
That’s just one of the questions that we’ll ask as we work with you to create your customized data backup and disaster recovery plan.
Actually, we’ll ask lots of questions to determine just what type of data you generate, what needs to be backed up and with what frequency. We’ll want to know about the importance of your data to business operations, how often it changes, the type of equipment you have, who is involved, how your company is expected to grow, and how soon you might need to get your data back if a “data disaster” occurred.
How Accent Delivers IT Services
Each Accent client has a designated support team that works collaboratively to deliver all of the services that are needed for a fully staffed IT department.
If you were going to do this yourself, you would need many different people with very different talents and skills to:
- Manage your infrastructure.
- Strategize, plan and budget for the future.
- Resolve issues and take care of routine tasks.
- Enhance the way your business uses technology.
Our services are structured so clients have all the resources they need for each discipline within the framework. Teams meet weekly to review client status and progress, and they own client success. The result is a fast response when you need help right now and continuous improvement of the IT function in your business.
Instead of a necessary evil, technology becomes a competitive advantage.
Bounce Back from Disaster With Wintech IT
Each client’s support team works with them to establish procedures that are best suited for their business, and then continuously manages the technical components to make sure that when and if something happens – such as a lightning strike, earthquake, cyber attack or human error – the plan rolls out and the effect on the business is minimized.
Data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity services are all delivered within our comprehensive IT management framework.
The Difference Between Data Backup, Disaster Recovery, and Business Continuity
I’m sure you’ve heard the terms “backup,” “disaster recovery,” and “business continuity.” What most business owners do not realize is that these are three separate things and without all three pieces, their business is in a vulnerable position.
Data Backup
First off, data backup is just copying your data onto another device. This could be a tape drive, an external hard drive, or an offsite backup.
In most of these forms, your data is stored in a raw format. This means that your applications, configurations, and network settings are not being backed up with it, so if you needed to restore, or recover, your network from the data backup, you may be down for days or weeks.
Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery is the ability to actually restore or recover all of your files, software, and functionality, without corruption.
Many times, people confuse this with business continuity, but disaster recovery is only one component. Disaster recovery just means that you can get your data back in some period of time.
Also, people tend to assume that disaster recovery refers only to large-scale, natural disasters, but a “disaster” could be as simple as a critical file erased, the sprinklers going off in your server room, or the server’s hard drive crashing.
Business Continuity
Business continuity is the ability of your business to continue operations after a small or large-scale disaster.
Let’s say your office burned to the ground and your server was destroyed…
- How would you continue operations while everything is being rebuilt?
- Where would your employees work temporarily?
- How will they access your client files, financial records, and important documents?
These are the kinds of questions that business continuity plans can contain. If your server was synchronized with an offsite data centre or “in the cloud,” your employees could work from home or another location, giving your business continuity.
The Difference Between Disaster Recovery And Business Continuity
The real difference between disaster recovery and business continuity is how long it would take for your business to get completely back up and running. Business continuity aims for the least amount of downtime possible.
When you’re creating your business continuity plans, you should consider how your organization will continue to operate if you could not access your building, server, or data, and you should review these plans annually.
If you need assistance planning, implementing, and managing your backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans, talk to a trusted IT consultant. Make sure your critical business information will be readily available after a disaster of any size.