Do You Know If All of Your Business Data Is Backed Up? 

Do You Know If All of Your Business Data Is Backed Up? 

Data, data, everywhere... but is it all backed up? Ensuring the safety and redundancy of your business data is more critical than ever. Data loss can have catastrophic consequences, from financial setbacks to reputational damage, and much more. While many businesses implement backup strategies for essential files and databases, even following the 3, 2, 1 Backup Strategy, there are often overlooked areas that can pose significant risks.  

In this article, we share the best practices for backing up essential files and databases:

Regular Backup Schedules
Establish a consistent backup routine. Daily backups are more than suitable for small businesses, ensuring minimal data loss in the event of a system failure. However, many businesses may require incremental backups throughout the day, or even high availability data replication to ensure the most up-to-date data in the event of hardware failure. 

Establishing your minimum downtime and recoverability can help us to put the right solution in place to suit your needs. Automating this process reduces human error and ensures consistency across your business data redundancy plan. While it is important to consider that Cloud storage itself is not a backup, cloud storage often includes a level of data redundancy; however, cloud-to-cloud backup is still an essential aspect of a comprehensive backup strategy. 

Multiple Backup Locations
If you have read our article on the 3, 2, 1 Backup Strategy, you will know that utilising both on-site and off-site backups is an essential part of your backup strategy. On-site backups allow for quick data recovery, even offering the ability to “spin up” a replication of your data on backup hardware, while off-site backups (cloud-based or remote physical locations) protect against local disasters such as fires or floods. 

Versioning and Retention Policies
Implementing versioning controls in your files and folders can help you maintain multiple versions of files. Even allowing you to recover previous versions of documents that may have been corrupted or inadvertently altered. 

However, it is important that you are able to define clear data retention policies to manage storage efficiently and comply with legal requirements. Do you need to hold versioning control and file retention for 30 days? Or 10 years? These are all important parts of a robust backup strategy. 

Secure Backup Methods
Backups are an essential way to be able to recover from a natural disaster or cyber attack. However, cyber criminals are becoming more adept at business disaster recovery and cyber security strategies, targeting backups as part of their cyber attacks to reduce the ability of businesses to recover. In many cases, forcing them to pay ransoms for data recovery. Thankfully, there is a solution, Immutable Backups, also known as fixed backups, are read-only, un-editable backups of your business data, with the necessary security and encryption to ensure that they cannot be tampered with and are always recoverable. 

Unseen Risks of Data Loss 
While structured backup strategies are essential, many businesses still fall prey to unseen risks that undermine their data retention efforts. These risks often stem from poor employee data, file and folder practices and the decentralised storage of important files. 

Local Storage on Employee Devices
Employees frequently save important documents on their desktops, downloads, or local document folders. These locations are often not included in centralised backup strategies, making them vulnerable to loss if the device fails or is compromised. 

Unfortunately, it isn't easy to prevent this from happening. You can put policies in place to prevent these sorts of actions, but likely people will still do this. Thankfully, there is a solution, Cloud storage services such as Microsoft OneDrive provide businesses with the ability to include many of these locations as part of their storage synchronisation, meaning that if the device fails, the files the employee stored “on their desktop” were synchronised to the cloud and could be restored to a new device. 

Shadow IT
This is a relatively new term in the IT industry; however, it refers to the use of unauthorised or unmanaged applications or devices for work purposes. Employees might use personal cloud storage services or external drives, even without knowing, such as Adobe’s cloud storage built into Adobe CC, bypassing official IT protocols. 

It is important to understand the applications, devices, and services that businesses use, implement and enforce clear policies to prevent unauthorised use, and educate employees on the importance of using approved tools and services to ensure data is protected and compliant with backup procedures. 

Human Error
Simple mistakes, such as accidental deletions or overwriting files, can result in significant data loss. It is important that backup systems and solutions include features for easy recovery of deleted files and that regular training sessions with employees are conducted to educate them on the best practices for data handling. 

Enhancing Data Backup Strategies
To mitigate these unseen risks, businesses must adopt a comprehensive approach to data management: 

• Centralised Storage Solutions: Utilise platforms like Microsoft SharePoint or OneDrive for Business, which not only provide cloud storage but also integrate seamlessly with daily workflows, ensuring that files are included within the business’s wider data retention policies.  
• Regular Audits and Monitoring: Conduct regular audits and tests of your backup and recovery systems, and data storage practices, to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Additionally, it is important to implement monitoring tools to alert IT teams of potential issues with failed or corrupted backups to prevent issues in the event of a recovery. 
• Employee Training and Awareness: Regularly train employees on data management policies, the importance of using centralised storage, and the risks associated with local storage. Awareness campaigns, signing of company policies and spot checks of data on devices can significantly reduce the incidence of shadow IT and enhance overall data security.   

How can we help ensure that all your critical data is backed up? 
Ensuring all business data is backed up requires diligence, robust strategies, and ongoing education.

At TwentyFour IT Services, we work with businesses throughout the UK (and internationally) addressing both the technical aspects of data backup and the human factors that contribute to data risk, ensuring businesses have the solutions, policies, and practices in place to safeguard their information and maintain operational resilience in the face of potential data loss incidents.

If you would like to learn more about how we can support your business in implementing robust backup strategies that cover every corner of your business, fill out the form below to speak with us.