So what would you do if disaster strikes?

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So what would you do if disaster strikes? If it all went away in a ball of flames.......If you lose your valuable data due to failure or disaster what would you do.....where is it backed up? We ask people all the time "what do you use for backups at the moment?" and here is the answer that often comes bouncing back -

"Oh I just use a USB stick.....I back up then put it in my bag each night.....that's safe right?"

Hmmm... safe, well here is our response to that.

First of all, is it safe to have all of your confidential documents on something that you could literally leave anywhere that you go, in something that you could drop on the street.....not a good idea. Articles like this highlight the risks of this type of portable media and as forgetful as I can be I'm going to lose it at some point, guaranteed.

Secondly the risk of data loss from failure is a real one...you can find ample discussion of the merits of USB drives online and when it comes to my data I would never trust one as the sole source of backup on any system I have.

Thirdly, this method of backup relies very heavily on the diligence of the person doing it......many employees and business owners alike just plain forget to to do the backup at the end of the day or week....and of course you know when the day comes (and it is coming, oh yes) that your computer fails, that will be the day that you were just too busy for the last few weeks to get around to it.....bummer!

So, what to do then? What is the best way to backup your data? The best option is to have a backup that has the following features:

  • Offsite. ( not on the same premises as the data being backed up)
  • Automated. (Take a large part of human error out of the loop)
  • Secure. (Secure at source and securely transmitted)
  • Monitored. (so if any part of the backup fails you are notified from the source)

If you make sure that you cover all of these bases you will be in a much better position to say that you have a truely secure back up solution....

Get it done people, because tomorrow is the day the worst could happen.