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Introduction
Creating reliable backups of
business data is essential for survival. Tasks such as backup and
recovery however are often perceived as tedious and demanding. For many
small businesses it is a challenge to backup and recover properly.
Many small businesses can not
afford dedicated Information Technology (IT) staff to manage the day to
day processes normally associated with backups.
Increasingly, data such as
customer, financial and communications (e.g. E-Mail) has become the
single most valuable asset for small business. This data is often the
most critical when it comes to business survival.
The Burden of Backup and
Recovery
Currently, businesses
encounter a number of problems when it comes to executing the backup
and recovery of critical data.
Limited or no IT support staff
Small business utilise a
number of business critical applications including customer databases,
accounting and financial information and E-Mail. Typically this
information is spread across one to three servers and increasingly, a
small number of desktop computers.
The majority of small
businesses know the importance of backing up data but the task itself
is often assigned to the manager or the owner of the business with a
less than defined process surrounding the backup of this data.
Backing up data is not
considered to be strategically important – it's not a value
add activity.
Therefore, limited attention
and focus is placed upon backup and recovery strategy.
Traditional Approach is Limited
The traditional tape-based
backup approach has been and continues to be a costly and labour
intensive process with frequent manual intervention and chance of error.
Most backup and recovery
software applications were not designed to make use of broadband
Internet connections, nor were they designed to be used by
non-technical business users. Due to this, the process of backup is
often a disruption to normal business activity or an activity added to
an existing list of staff responsibilities and performed after the
working day has finished.
Traditional Approach is
Expensive
Even if a business follows
rigid procedures regarding the backup of data, that's half the process
taken care of. In order to be truly effective, these tapes must be
transported off site. This physical tape removal is both time consuming
and expensive and typically only large businesses can afford this
overhead. Small business face a dilemma in establishing effective
backup and recovery procedures and need a more effective solution.
Automatic Remote Backup Data
Protection
As an alternative, disk based
online backup and recovery uses your broadband Internet connection to
get data off site quickly. Through the use of client
software, data can be compressed and encrypted automatically before
transfer.
This approach ensures that
your data is immediately transported off the premises just minutes
after the backup has been created and is secured appropriately.
A Cost Effective Solution
As discussed tape based backup
can be expensive. Consider for a moment the equipment you require
– tape drives, tapes, backup software, plug-ins, maintenance
contracts, off-site storage, staff training and more.
With online backup and
recovery you don't need to worry about any of this. There are no tapes
to manage or training required. You simply allow the backup process to
run in the background and let the online backup and recovery service
provider worry about the rest.
Room to Move
An advantage with online
backup is that the service scales up or down depending upon your
requirements. As your business grows, you simply increase the amount of
space required to store your backup – you don't have to
purchase new equipment. Conversely is the business contracts, you need
a certain amount of flexibility, not equipment that is in excess of
your current needs.
Online backup and recovery has
the ability to dynamically adjust to your business requirements.
Compliance
Online Backup complies with
Australian Tax Office (ATO) and Australian Securities Investment
Commission requirements surrounding the retention of historical data in
a secure off site facility.
For example, Australian Tax
Office draft ruling TR2004/D23 proposes that taxpayers should keep
backups in a temperature controlled and humidity controlled
environment. Online backup is the easiest and by far the
cheapest and most reliable way of complying with this requirement.
Conclusion
Creating reliable backups of business data is
essential however the level of complexity and cost associated with the
traditional methods of data backup often leave businesses in a state of
confusion – sometimes analysis paralysis.
With tools such as broadband Internet increasingly
becoming part of a standard small business approach within Australia,
the time has come to reconsider existing backup strategy, and use
existing technology to your advantage.
To review the range of Online Backup services
available through IT Keeper
click here
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