Why do I need to take regular backups?
Quite simply because if you don’t you may loose very important information that you may never be able to duplicate or generate again. This can be anything from a document or an email, through to customer records and key financial data.
What is the difference between backup and archiving?
Archive information is the primary copy of information which might need to be accessed every day while backups are secondary. This means that while they are both important a backup will record all the most recent information and data while an archive contains historical information.
What is the difference between disaster recovery and backup & recovery?
Backup and recovery is essentially a major part of disaster recovery. Without a backup of the latest data on the computer or network, it will never be possible to implement the disaster recovery plan simply because there will be no data to recover. The aim of the recovery process is to minimise any impact that a disaster might have on an organisation.
How do I find the right suppliers?
Conjungo is a great starting point, because it will let you find the right supplier according to your location, company type, size and whether they have the right accreditations. Furthermore, Conjungo is completely unbiased, has most of the major vendors’ partners included and is supported by the vendors as well as being fee to use.
Are there any legal issues I should be aware of with backups?
Information and records relating to individuals must comply with the Data Protection Act. This means that any backup with such information stored on it must be kept in a secure place (which it should be anyway) and that only authorised personnel should have access.
What is remote backup?
Remote backup means that you can store all of your data from your PC or network onto a third party’s (your supplier’s) computer storage facilities rather than using your own. This facility is accessed via the internet and it’s generally fully automated in that it will backup all the information required at a convenient time, i.e. outside of office hours.
How often do I need to take a backup?
In an ideal world, you would want to take a backup daily or even more frequently. However while some companies do actually do this, it will depend on your budget and how important the information is to you. In summary, you should backup data at least once a week.
Do I need to backup the same data every time?
No, you can actually just backup information that has been added since the last backup. This is more complex than taking a complete backup because the software will need to ‘know’ what information is new and what isn’t.
How secure is a backup?
Your data on any backup should only be dealt with by trusted personnel and suppliers. It is also possible to encrypt the information to make it extremely difficult to read if it does fall into the wrong hands.
How will I know which system or service is best for my organisation?
By discussing your requirements with a number of specialist suppliers you should soon get an idea of which system is best. You must of course fully understand the benefits of each and the potential downside and this will also be dictated by your needs and budget.