Backup is one of the most important operations in the IT environment. If data is lost or corrupted due to disaster, security breach, equipment failure or simple human error, backup is the lifeline that keeps your business running.
Traditionally, backup has been very difficult to get right. Backup systems fail to run, or the data cannot be restored. Organizations have the false sense that their data is protected, which is worse than having no backup at all.
The problem has been exacerbated by growing data volumes and around-the-clock business requirements. The so-called “backup window” — the time when IT operations are halted so backups can run — has all but vanished. Organizations need backup systems that can handle large amounts of data quickly.
You might think that backup challenges are limited to smaller organizations with no IT staff. However, a recent IDC report, “The State of Disaster Recovery and Cyber Recovery 2024-2024,” found that backup-related issues are the No. 1 cause of data loss among organizations with 500 or more employees.
How Much Can You Afford to Lose?
The objective of data protection is to maximize data availability and minimize business disruption. However, the IDC study found that organizations suffer 4.2 data-related business disruptions a year on average. Lack of IT resources and skill sets were the primary roadblocks to effective data protection.
Developing and implementing a backup strategy requires time and expertise. It’s no longer possible to simply back up data overnight and be assured that it can be recovered in an emergency. According to the IDC study, 39 percent of data loss events occurred in the gap between backups. Organizations must consider how much data they can afford to lose and how much downtime they can tolerate while they’re restoring data from backup.
Those metrics are known as the recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). RPO is the maximum amount of time since the last backup, and it typically varies for different types of data. Data that changes infrequently may only need to be backed once a day, while critical data may need continuous backup. RTO is how long it takes to restore data and get systems back up and running. System complexity and data volume can affect RTO.
Managing Data Effectively
Because data must be backed up frequently and restored quickly, organizations should develop a data retention policy so that obsolete and inactive data is deleted or archived. They also need a backup retention policy, which specifies how long and at what intervals backups are kept. Maintaining multiple backups makes it possible to roll back to a specific point in time should data get lost or corrupted along the way.
Next comes selecting and implementing a backup solution. The software must be configured properly to ensure that all data is located and backed up, and the backup target must be large enough to handle all the data according to the retention strategy. Data optimization techniques such as de-duplication and compression can help maximize capacity.
Once the data is backed up onsite it should be replicated to offsite storage. The cloud has made this once-complex operation relatively easy and cost-effective. However, it’s important to choose a reputable cloud provider and encrypt data before it’s sent to the cloud.
How Verteks Can Help
Verteks makes all of this simple and seamless. Our fully managed backup solution features a state-of-the-art onsite appliance that automatically backs up all your data and replicates it to the cloud. Our experts manage it for you, so you can rest assured that your data is protected.
Backup-related issues are responsible for 32 percent of data loss incidents. Let Verteks help you implement a solid backup strategy that reduces this risk while eliminating operational headaches.
