6 Data Backup Best Practices Your Business Continuity Plan Needs

The future of any organization is only as good as its business continuity plan. This is a well thought out plan that instructs a company of what to do in the face of a disaster, so they can return to normal operations as quickly as possible. One key part of every business continuity plan that should never be overlooked: the backing up and recovery of your data.

After all, there are many aspects of your business that can be replaced should it be destroyed or lost in a disaster, such as office furniture, computer equipment, and even the office building itself. Although, your company’s data is unique, which makes it irreplaceable. Therefore, we want to share with you six best practices when it comes to backing up your data so that your business will be fully prepared to overcome any potential disaster.

How many of these best practices are you already doing? Which ones can you incorporate into your current IT setup? Read on to find out!

Backup to the Cloud
There are a variety of ways to back up your company’s data, but the best way is to utilize a cloud-based BDR system. In addition to giving you anytime/anywhere access to your data, storing your backed-up data in the cloud assures that it will survive AND be accessible, should something devastating happen to your physical office building--a case that can’t be made with traditional tape backup.

Take Multiple Backups
Another disadvantage of tape backup is that it’s generally used to only take one backup per day, which means you could potentially lose an entire day’s worth of work in the event of a disaster. Alternatively, a solution like BDR takes backup copies of your data every fifteen minutes, and it’s a process that’s done automatically, meaning that you or your staff don’t have to waste time swapping out tapes.

Store Backups in Different Locations
Another advantage of a cloud-based backup system like BDR is that multiple copies of your data are stored across several physical locations. After all, what’s the point of backing up your data to protect your business if one or even two locations where your data was housed ends up becoming devastated by a disaster? This is a serious shortcoming of tape backup that should give every business owner pause.

Have a Quick Recovery Time Objective
After a disaster, it’s ideal for your business continuity plan to include ways to get operations up and running again as quickly as possible. This is especially the case when it comes to accessing your company’s data, seeing as the average modern business can accomplish very little without it. Therefore, you’re going to want to take advantage of BDR’s data recovery feature, which allows the BDR device itself to act as a temporary server, should something happen to your IT infrastructure. Essentially, this feature allows the quickest recovery time objective possible for your business.

Have a Maximum Recovery Point Objective
Another important factor of data recover is the recovery point objective. This is where you set a goal for how much data you wish to be recovered post-disaster. Of course, you’ll want to recover as much data as possible, and working with an IT professional to incorporate this into your business continuity plan is how this is achieved, and it’s another backup best practice that BDR is designed for.

Plan to Protect Your Data From All the Risks
Seeing how even a small amount of data loss can negatively affect your bottom line, you’ll want to take extra precautions to ensure that, no matter what happens, your company will retain as much of its data as possible. This means planning for every conceivable scenario. k_Street Consulting, LLC can have this conversation with you to help you make sure that your business continuity plan covers every angle possible.

For assistance with any and all of your data backup needs, call us today at (202) 640-2737.