Disaster Tip of the Week: Backup Your Files
Monday, November 16, 2009 at 5:00AMI've been telling people to back up their data for almost fifteen years now, and I wrote about it in one of my first articles The Importance of Data Backups back in 2005. However, I still constantly run into people and businesses that fail to make frequent data backups and see stories in the news about data loss all the time.
The recent Sidekick and Snow Leopard issues that I did a post on recently also show how vulnerable we can be when we do not properly make these data backups.
Manually backing up your data can save you a lot of headaches in the long run, including issues with compliance and regulatory requirements.
Back when I wrote the article above, someone sent me an email stating that when they have a data loss, they just have the chance to do it all over again and do it better. This may be a great outlook to have, but not a very practical or cost effective one.
According to The Cost of Lost Data, a Pepperdine University report updated in 2003 (Pre-Sarbanes-Oxley) Dr. David Smith estimates the average cost of irrecoverably lost data at more than $10,000 per megabyte lost. This does not take into account the value of the lost data which on average is about $3,400.00 per incident.
In addition to backing up your data, I would also recommend making copies of your Vital records, and other business documents essential to your operations (electronically if you can) and store those off-site as well.
You also don't need an expensive solution, even if you are a small business, indivdual, or on a shoestring budget there are still steps you can take to save and backup your data without having to break the bank.
Fore More excellnet Statistics on Data Loss see this whitepaper from HP & Score:
Impact on U.S. Small Business of Natural & Man-Made Disasters
Reader Comments (7)
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Glade you are enjoying the Disaster Preparedness Blog. Feel free to comment, provide input or even let me know when you think I am wrong anytime. If you would like to add see something specific let me know by sending me an email through the contact page.
I really like this post. As a web media company we are always advising our clients to back up their information. We recently covered this topic as well on our video podcast The Super Show. We recommend a local backup as well as a remote backup. Even the best security in the world cannot stop things like natural disasters or real physical damage to hardware where information is stored. We recently had this happen with an external hard drive that got knocked over. The cost of getting the information off was over a grand. To quote Mastercard - knowing in that situation you have the data stored elsewhere - Priceless. Thanks for the post. I will be back, you share a lot of interesting information.
Thanks for taking the time to come by and check it out from the tweet I sent you. Data backups are always a good idea, and yes I highly recommend using an online backup system and an external hard drive as well.
Glade you enjoyed it.
As a Business Continuity Planning Professional I'm always amazed at how many hard copy vital records and documents companies still use for everyday operations. Many of these h/c do not have electronic backups. It is also interesting how even if electronic copies exist, that they are not backed up using an online, easily accessible method for accessing both during/after a disruption. The ability to quickly retrieve data is imperative to continuing operations. Great affordable solutions using open source technology and cloud computing exist. www.bdatechsolutions.com has good solution starting at only $79 a month.
Yes Jessica, I agree and it amazes me as well that most businesses are still using hard copies of their vital records.
This is often an area that gets over looked even by some contingency professionals.
There are many solutions out there from low cost solutions fit for SOHO businesses to more elaborate solutions for the enterprise.
This is a key area I try to get businesses to focus on in my consulting business especially since 90% of businesses vital information is contained on paper documents (hard copy) and is what often results in a business having setbacks after a disaster.
Please do not make the mistake of failing to give a data center disaster recovery plan top priority,
especially if you are just starting a business. Too often, people make excuses. They feel such a disaster is unlikely. Perhaps they feel they do not use as much soft data as other companies, making a computer backup plan impractical. However, there are several reasons why a good data center disaster recovery plan always makes sense.