With increasing malware attacks and the rising cost of a data breach –reaching an average of $3.92 million – cybersecurity has emerged as a peak level business priority.
However, in spite of tightened security measures, breaches have increased by 67% over the past five years.
Consequently, the need to have a solid backup plan in place has become more essential than ever.
In a perfect world, you can back up all of your important data every day, instantly, whenever one of them changes. Unfortunately, due to budget and tech limitations, this is little more than a vision for most organizations.
But do not be fret over, as the good news is that you can still build up a robust, well-considered backup strategy to maintain access to your business assets—no matter when or where disaster hits.
It is not enough to have fundamental protections like anti-virus software to protect your valuable files as Hackers spend their time searching for tactics to accomplish.
Later or sooner, they will find a way!
When it happens, you don’t have to worry about losing permanent data. That is if you have employed a backup strategy to care for your business’s data or files.
Importance of Having a Backup Strategy
Losing data can not only put your consumers’ data at risk but also have a major impact on your reputation
The average expense of a breach is seven million dollars as of 2019. It is projected that 60% of companies that experience data loss shut within six months.
On the other hand, you could be at risk of losing data permanently. Malware and Viruses that attack your hardware can destroy it, but these are just some of the most dominant threats.
All of these risks can cost your business money and, without an adequate backup system in place, you could lose everything.
- Research projects that companies pay $7 million to restore from a loss. Many companies don’t have that much money even to do so.
These expenses, as elevated as they are, only tell part of the story. The other price may be something irreplaceable-If your customers feel that their important
Data is not safe with you; there are chances they take their business elsewhere where all of their information and files are safe.
The solution is to build and implement a data backup plan. With the planning, right tools, and training, you can protect your data.
The question is, how can one plan out a strategical data backup for your business? Here is the answer as below mentioned are some step by step guide.
Step #1: Evaluate Your Company’s Backup requirements
There are multiple aspects to take into consideration. Let us classify them down so you can have thoughts on them;
Type of Data that Needs to be shielded?
The plain answer to this question is everything!! Losing any data is not something you want to risk. You need data to keep your business functional.
Risks in Data?
As per the current pace of cybercrime growth, you will want to think about the best methods to safeguard your data from cyber-attacks.
Here are some questions to ask to identify which risks must be considered.
- When it comes to security-Are careless employees, a matter of concern?
- Do clients sign in to my system to access data or services?
- Has my company ever been hacked before?
Asking these questions will help you recognize your threats. A business or a company established in a hurricane-prone area might be worried about wind damage or flooding. Be as fluent as you can as you assess your unwanted threats.
Backup Infrastructure
The infrastructure of your backup system should be similar to your requirements. If you are anxious about the possibility of hardware failure or natural disasters, then you will want to consider offsite backup solutions.
There may also be some advantage of having an on-site physical backup for the swift recovery of data.
For How Long Backed Up Data must be Stored?
Finally, you will need to decide and think about how long to keep the data you store. If you expect to mount up a lot of data, you will need space to store it.
Some companies have assertive requirements for backup. If you do so, that will impact your decision.
You should assess your needs and think about what structure might be best for you.
Step #2: evaluate Options to Find The finest Backup Strategy
After you assess your backup needs, the subsequent step is to assess your options. Here are few of review the backup options;
Backups- Hardware and Software Solutions
A software backup may be the best option if your infrastructure changes often.
A hard drive backup is placed on-site and fixed on a wall.
The drawback of a stand-alone hardware backup is that it will not perform any kind of backup if it is unsuccessful or fails.
Due to which reason, some companies choose to use multiple backup systems.
Services Cloud
These lets you run your backup and store it in the vendor’s cloud infrastructure.
Hybrid Solutions
The perk of a hybrid service is that it protects you two ways.
1) If you need them, you will have on-site backups
2) Find out your data from Cloud if it is necessary.
Storage Options of Cloud
There is an option of backing up your data to local or USB disks. This alternative is best for backing up individual files and hardware.
It is not recommendable for networks. If the drive is crashed, you will lose your backup.
Selecting your storage and back up methods is a technique of balancing act. You will need to weigh up your budget against your specific backup needs.
Step #3: Budgeting
The third step is planning out a budget for your backup plan.
Some solutions are more pricey than others. Buying new hardware is expensive and may involve downtime to install.
Again here are some points to consider.
What is the amount you want to spend?
Do you plan to assign your budget as a thing of capital expenditure? Possibly you would instead monitor it is an operating expense.
What cost would it land you into if you lost information/data to a cybersecurity attack or disaster?
How much will be the expense to train employees to deal with the data backups?
Someone in your team or company will have to take responsibility for backup management- if at all you are not choosing BaaS,
If you decide to choose backup as a service, then you may be able to pay monthly and avoid a major, up-front expense. Be reasonable about your needs and what you must spend to meet them.
Step #4: Choose a Platform
If you have made accurate evaluations, you may already know what you want.
Choosing a single backup option may fulfill your requirements.
If you are completely convinced, you will have a cloud backup internet connection. You can use it from anywhere and anytime and get your Data quickly.
If you are storing confidential data, you may not want to rely on an outside company. If that is the case, think about offsite storage for your data backup.
Step #5: Pick up a Vendor for Data Backup.
It is time to select a vendor to enable you to use your planned backup strategy.
You may opt for an all-in-one service packages. Some companies provide hardware, software, and cloud-based solutions.
Any time you select a vendor, you should request a proposal. That is the perfect way to know which options are available to you.
These include:
- The overall cost of implementation
- Which options are included
- How long application is expected to take
- The vendor’s reputation
Asking for references is a wise idea. Do not hesitate to ask call, and ask them about every attribute of their experience. Then, once you have collected the information you require, you can give the contract to the vendor you choose.
Create a Recovery strategy
As your plan is constructed, create together every bit of instructions on how to implement it. Ideally, this should comprise of an easy to follow a security incident response checklist.
Your recovery process should involve:
- Set of data set to be recovered
- Dependencies that affect the recovery
- Any post-restoration steps to be taken
- The type of recovery to necessary
- You may require input from your service providers.
- Or vendors.
- Involve those people who will be responsible for backups
Step #6: New Backup System Test
The last step is to test your backups. Testing should be an unending task. Preferably, you will have to perform it after every backup.
You will need to choose a plan that works since that is not practical.
You will want to examine to ensure;
- The backup was successful, and the data you have secured is present.
- The restoration process goes without a hitch and runs smooth.
- Employees are aware of when, how what to do.
- There are no errors with the backup.
Once you have confirmed the backups work, set up a time-based schedule.
For instance, you might do a complete test of your backup once a week or once a month. Your needs should determine the frequency.
With a plan in place, you will be sure that your backups will be there if you need them.
Every business has some risk. Whether your prime concern is a cybercrime, natural disaster, or employee irresponsibility, opting for a secure backup system can take all your worries.
To know more useful insights on the backup system, keep visiting ITsGuru – Cloud IT Services Houston.