Posts Tagged ‘backup’

We take an umbrella when we go out because our weather is so unpredictable. We carry a spare tyre in the boot of our car just in case we have a puncture. We leave the car in gear even though the handbrake is on. If we had to specify the features of a new automobile, these backup fail safes would be high on the list.

Similarly when commissioning new software it is essential to include a backup strategy at the design stage.  This is equally necessary  whether you need a small in-house stock control system or a large online medical registry. Improving efficiency is often a key reason for commissioning new software and the benefits could be compromised if your data is not backed up.

Devise a backup policy that is tailored to the way that you work, by working out how long it would take you to re-input  your lost data for the last hour, day or month. You’ll need to make sure that your backup regime will meet the standards of  your organisation. 

Where will you store your backups? It’s a question you need to address as the benefit of backups could be lost if they are stored in the same place as your computers. This would leave your backup media open to the same risks of fire, flood or theft as your data. Copies of your backups should be routinely stored off site either by using internet backups, cloud hosting or by physically transferring the media. Make sure they're not taken via the pub!

Have you ever had an umbrella that jammed when you tried to open it? Just having an umbrella doesn't mean that you won't get soaked and backed-up data is only any good if it can be restored.  So in addition to your backup regime you will need a restoration schedule. This will enable you to perform regular test restores to reassure yourself that  your backups will save your data even in the event of a serious hardware failure.  

Lastly consider what would happen if your backups were stolen? Look out for my upcoming article on data security and encryption.