The High Cost of Cheap Backup

Smart backup planning can save your business

The Colorado Flood of 2013 resulted in millions of dollars in damages to small businesses especially those without a comprehensive backup & recovery strategy. Many small businesses are still relying on consumer grade backups such as Mozy & Carbonite. The shortfall of these backup providers is that they only offer file level backup and restoration. Should a server fail your data is protected, however the business is not.
Chances are your business relies on the software and data that is located on your servers, when these resources are not available your staff must apologize to customers because “the system” is down which costs time, money and trust with customers. There is also the cost to replace and configure the server which can take several days and thousands of dollars.
Savvy small businesses are taking advantage of recent hybrid cloud backup solutions. These devices are often referred to as a BDR and they can save your business from failing. A BDR is an on premise device that backs up your critical systems hourly and uploads them to a secure cloud location as well. In the event of a localized or complete failure they offer the ability to recover your data, or entire system. Should the server be a total loss such as in the case of the 2013 Colorado flood, the server can run 100% in the cloud while you procure new hardware at your location? This way the business can continue to run within minutes instead of days saving your company from certain damage.
A compressive data protection and business continuity plan should be built into every business before disaster strikes, not after. Sadly many small businesses do not have a guiding light in the world of technology and often times do not know the right questions to ask to make sure they are truly protected. Here are 5 key questions to ask your IT provider or in house technician to make sure you are protected.

• Which systems are being backed?
• How often is it backed up?
• Where is the data backed up to?
• Can you give me a daily backup report?
• Have you tested our backups within the last 90 days?

Asking these questions and developing a continuity strategy will help you keep your doors open and business running smoothly. Not sure where to start? Contact Visionary IT today to learn more 602-754-0101