Five Fatal Myths about Data Backup

FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP FiVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP 19 out of every 20 small businesses that lose their computer data for at least 10 days go out of business. Protect your business before the inevitable happens. 1 www.DataPreserve.com FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP How critical is the data on the hard drive of your business’s PC, laptop or server? Could you afford to lose email and contacts, financial data, customer records, intellectual property, employee records, etc.? Do you have proprietary software unique to your business that may be costly and difficult to replace? Most people don’t realize the investment that sits on a single hard drive. Data loss can be fatal to businesses. When not fatal, it can certainly be costly, time-consuming, and stressful. The best protection against data loss is to backup the data. Yet the process of data backup can be confusing and is often misunderstood. Over the years, DataPreserve has encountered these five prevalent and potentially fatal myths about data backup that lead business owners into a false sense of security. Data backup, done correctly, will protect mission critical data and sensitive information, facilitate the ability to recover data in the event of a disaster, and allow “day-to-day” recovery access. Bottom line: all it should provide is secure data protection to minimize risk of exposure. There are several components of backup related to security that should be considered when setting up a backup process. These include encrypting the data, storing the data off-site, setting automatic processes, having accessibility to the data when it is needed, and having the ability to fine tune the backup to set the revision and retention of the data over time. 2 www.DataPreserve.com FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP My customers feel very happy with the DataPreserve Remote Backup. When they get a daily confirmation email, they know their data is safe. And they associate that good service with my company. - Frank R. Johnson Director of Technology PongoWongo MYTH #1 The biggest threat to my data is a natural catastrophe, theft, or fire. Fires in California, hurricanes in the Gulf, and blizzards anywhere get the big news coverage, but the dirty secret is that technology failure such as crashed hard drives or operator error are the biggest threats to business data. After that, technology-driven threats such as "viruses, hackers and security breaches“ are the biggest threats. Next in line are disasters such as fires or explosions. Solution – Backing up your data regularly in some fashion will help protect from the biggest threats. MYTH #2 All my key data is in “My Documents” folder. The My Documents folder is the default folder for many programs in Microsoft Windows. Many computer users mistakenly believe that this folder contains all the data that needs to be protected. On the contrary, key data is scattered throughout your PC. Often used data files are also typically found in the Desktop and My Favorites folders. Additionally, critical business data from email and contact management programs such as Outlook and ACT, as well as financial data from QuickBooks® , Peachtree, and MS Money are often located in specific folders in various places in your PC. Solution – Either be willing to do a full system backup of everything on your hard drive or get professional help in selecting files and folders. Once the files are selected, review the settings regularly, such as every three months, for changes or additional files. What I like about the DataPreserve solution is that it works. It provides a backup solution that doesn't require management by the client, meaning fewer support calls to us." * Patrick Baumgart Director of Operations Torus Business Group MYTH #3 Regular backup processes protect from data loss. Regular backup processes only have value when they are monitored. The process may be performed but some files are skipped. The backup media such as tape or CDs could become corrupted with time, or the backup media could be lost. Solution – Check the backup regularly by retrieving files back to their original locations. This will confirm that the correct files are being backed up and that the data is retrievable. Also, store the backup media offsite, encrypted. 3 www.DataPreserve.com FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP MYTH #4 One Backup Method is Sufficient. What I love about the DataPreserve Remote Backup is the peace of mind I get. All of my critical files, including QuickBooks, are safely backed up offsite every night. In the past I would periodically resolve to consistently back up my data. It would work for a while and then I would fall back into the rut of forgetting about it. Later I would wake up some morning worrying about how I have not backed up data in a while. The $25 a month I pay is relatively nothing for this great service! Ken Davis Owner, The UPS Store #4020 • Business owners are often proud of the highly sophisticated backup systems they set up. But any one system will have its weaknesses. One company lost a hard drive containing critical data along with the propriety software that was used to encrypt the data. The encrypted backup tapes were available, but the software to read the tapes was gone, for good. While dependence on tape backup is declining, its use is still prevalent. However, backup tapes can be lost or corrupted, so an alternate method should be used in addition to tape. One common practice is to backup data to a removable hard drive that sits right next to the computer. In the case of fire or theft, this backed up data can be lost along with the computer. Solution – Use multiple backup systems and make sure at least one copy of the data is encrypted and transported off-site. MYTH #5 My IT Guy Has Backup Under Control. Conversations with both business owners and information technology (IT) professionals reveal that the best way for business owners to have insight into their own backup is for them to check it themselves periodically. An IT professional in Iowa related how she set up an automated backup process for a medical office. When she was called in to retrieve that data after a data disaster, she found that the file locations had been changed over time, rendering the backup useless. Solution – Select an IT professional who is familiar with small business information technology solutions, which can be significantly different in cost and implementation from big business technology. And, as mentioned before, personally test the quality of the backup. Ask: How quickly can you access the data? Is it in usable format? Can you retrieve it in case the IT professional is not available? Before you go to sleep tonight... If your computer data is critical to your business, back it up before you go to sleep tonight. Then make it a priority to consult a qualified IT professional to set up multiple backup systems with at least one that will store your data securely (encrypted and available) off-site. DataPreserve – It’s not about backing up your data, but getting your data back. 4 www.DataPreserve.com FIVE FATAL MYTHS ABOUT DATA BACKUP George Tyler Colorado Franchise Owner Phone: 720-259-1111 www.DataPreserve.com/Colorado This document provides technical information designed to provide readers with useful general information. But technical information is not the same as specific technical advice. Technical advice is the application of technology to an individual’s specific circumstances. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, we make no guarantee or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. If you have specific technical needs, we recommend you consult a trained DataPreserve technical professional to verify our information and provide you with advice relating to your particular situation. NOTICE: The testimonials cited herein contain expected results and are intended to represent the experience we expect you will have with DataPreserve. © 2008 DataPreserve Franchise LLC 20080126 5 www.DataPreserve.com