Prepare Yourself for Data Loss

Backing up data is a vital component to any company’s routine procedures. In today’s business world most day to day functions are performed with computers, whether it is accounting or managing communications. Business operations and company data go hand in hand. Even experiencing a temporary loss or inaccessibility to your data can have a real effect on the bottom line. Technology is an essential part of business, and every business should have a solution to deal with lost data. Companies need to have a proactive backup and recovery policy which is reviewed quarterly. Data backup and recovery policies are an insurance plan.

Questions to Ask Before Backing up Data

Creating a backup and recovery plan takes time and should not be rushed. As a company you will need to determine what data needs to be backed up, how often it should be backed up, what type of back up you should be doing, and if it should be on-site or off-site, or possibly both.

Here are 10 questions you should consider when developing your back up and recovery plan:

1. How important is the data on your systems?
2. What type of information does the data contain?
3. How often does the data change?
4. How quickly do you need to recover the data?
5. Do you have the equipment to perform backups?
6. Who will be responsible for the backup and recovery plan?
7. What is the best time to schedule backups?
8. Do you need to store backups off-site?
9. Do any of your important programs have special back up needs or instructions? 
10. Does someone at your office know how to perform those backups?

Written by Mary Greenlee, Solutions Advisor and CRM expert for DSD Business Systems.