Back up that database!

Does your company do daily or weekly data backups? Most companies, from one-person operations to large corporations do some kind of data backup. They are vital, in fact, to the very survival of your company. Some surveys have reported that companies who lose their data backup go out of business within two years. Don’t be one of them!

With Hurricane Ike rolling into Texas this week, it might be a good time for your company to re-assess what you data backup plan is. A few key things to remember about data backups:

1)They should be done like clockwork—ideally, they should be performed with an automated data backup program that can be programmed to never miss a backup.

2)If you are using tapes, they should be replaced every twelve months. Magnetic tapes degrade after twelve months—if you wait too long, you could lose large pieces of vital information.

3)Your tapes should NEVER be stored on site…or, worse yet, be taken home by an employee! Should your company experience a catastrophic event, such as a fire or flood, you are almost guaranteeing the loss of your data.

So where do you store those tapes?

The answer to that is: store them with a reputable, reliable records storage company. Most of these companies will have a specified room designed especially for data backup tapes/hard drives. These rooms should be:

1)fire proof
2)water proof
3)temperature-controlled
4)humidity-regulated
5)alarmed

The reason it makes sense to store your data backups off site is two-fold: first, the records storage company’s vault is most assuredly safer and less expensive than anything you could build on-site; second, the storage company is located (usually) miles from your business location.

So the next time you do those data backups, as yourself: what would happen if I lost this information? Where would my company be without it? And if you don’t like the answer, please consider the professional records storage company—it may cost a little more, but considering the alternative, it’s the best bargain out there.