Importance Of Reliable Backup Media 

As 2012 begins to show signs of an improving business climate, I hope you are all looking at your organization's condition and tuning things up. One area we can’t stress strongly enough is your computer backup system, the key to avoiding a major disaster. If your computers' hard drive fails and the data can’t be read, how quickly can you recover? Having a current backup to restore is critical to avoiding a major business disruption. Here is a good basic plan.

Review your backup system to make sure that all important folders are being backed up regularly. Have a document that lists all the important databases and the frequency and destination of the backup, e.g. CounterPoint - daily to a removable backup drive. You will need five removable drives for Mon, Tue, Wed, etc. that will be rotated. Better yet, automate your backups. Then all you need to do is make sure the written disks/tapes are removed daily and the next day’s media is in place.

If you use tape backup, make sure you know how long the tapes will last (number of backup uses) and replace the tapes on a timely basis. Unfortunately some tape backups might look like they’ve worked, but the data may not be readable. Now would be a good time to think about replacing those tape backups with more permanent, reliable media.

To confirm the integrity of your backups, test your current backup media by trying to restore the data to another computer and looking to see what you get. This is especially important if you’re still using tapes. If the data isn’t all there, get some help, because this generally means that either your backup is not properly set up or it is not working as it should.

Most importantly, keep your backups offsite – at least the weekly ones.

Your data is the lifeblood of your business. Don’t discover after the fact that your backup is not usable. Check your backup hardware and software on a regular basis and keep your data safely and securely stored.

Talk to you soon.  ~Norma