What if on a Monday morning you turn on your laptop and all the records, invoices, emails and documents of all of your customers have disappeared? A broken laptop, ransomware or a simple error can do it. But it's too late when you only make a backup of your business data after the damage is done. Check your business data backup now!
The importance of backup for business data is more significant than most owners understand
Owners often assume their files are backed up because they're stored on a cloud or in a computer that's never crashed. But cloud syncing doesn't substitute for backups: delete a folder and the backup copy disappears, too; if someone's account gets hijacked, the backup goes with it. Disaster comes from unlikely sources: old equipment, employee error, theft, fire, flood and even malicious crypto-locking software. Restoring from scratch takes days, and some information-such as 30 years of customer histories-is impossible to replace. For a small business, that's days with no data, no orders, and angry customers looking elsewhere.
What Your Business Needs to Backup
Start with what would hurt you the most to lose:
- Customer and contact information, applications, and leads.
- Accounting, invoicing and payroll files.
- Emails, shared documents and signed contracts.
- Your website files and database.
- Work saved only on individual staff laptops.
Simple 3-2-1 Rule
Have three copies of your data, on two different media types with one copy off-site. For example have your working files on your computer and then make a copy on a second drive and use a third service such as another cloud account. The off-site copy will protect you from a fire, theft or ransomware that will take hold of everything plugged into your network. It sounds like a lot of work but most of it you can just do once and then forget.
Ways To Check Your Business Data Backup Today
Never Tested Backup = Guess Set aside an hour this week and walk through these steps. One or more of these is guaranteed to reveal a gap:
- Could you tell me one person who is responsible for backups?
- Ensure the backup runs twice a day at least.
- Choose a file and randomly restore to show that the copy will open.
- Retain a copy offline.
- Write down the steps for restoring, so anyone can follow them.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre have a section on their online security guide on how to do regular backups. A really good resource for smaller groups without an IT person.
Ask for Help for Backups
Most importantly, this needs to be considered carefully, and should not be complicated. The One Hub team can assist Melbourne companies in creating robust backup and disaster recovery arrangements. Not sure where your data is at the moment? Contact us for a quick check-up before disaster hits, and you will thank us one day!
FAQs
How often should a business back up its data?
A daily copy should be the minimum, but some files like invoices and customers etc may need copying more frequently on heavy days when hourly updates are needed.
Is cloud storage the same as a backup?
No, because cloud storage will sync delete commands, so you still want a backup copy that's separate from your day-to-day software, in case someone else deletes it and pulls the original.
What does the 3 2 1 backup rule mean?
Keep three copies on two types of storage, with one copy stored away from your workspace, e.g., a different cloud.
How can I verify that my backup is working?
You must restore a sample file every six months – restore has to be successful – that proves your backup is good when it really counts not in the 'save the day' moments.
What is the cost of business data backup?
A basic automated backup costs far less than losing a day at work, losing sales and losing goodwill. Once it is set up, it can run automatically in the background.