Most businesses recognise the need for backing up their data, but backing up your data is only the first step in making sure your business can continue to operate should disaster strike.
Every business must also consider its business continuity plan.
Business continuity goes far beyond backups. It’s about getting your business back up and running should the worst happen, and how quickly and completely that can be achieved.
There are lots of factors to consider when building your plan, including questions like:
- How regularly is your data backed up? How regularly *should* it be backed up?
- Are your backups tested? Or will the first time you find out that your backup solution isn’t working as it should be when you go to recover it?
- Are you relying on the delivery of tape backups? Do you know how often tape backups fail? What if the disaster we’re faced with means that the tape backup can’t be delivered to you for several hours, days or even weeks?
- Where are your backups stored? Are they stored in one location, or are redundancies in place?
- Do you know how to go about restoring your data? What the process is? How long that process takes?
- What exactly is being backed up? Are you backing up only files? What happens if your server goes down? What about all the software you use?
And beyond data, as we saw in 2020, “disaster” can mean something that we might not have thought possible. Your data may be intact, but your people may not be able to access your premises. What processes and procedures are in place to allow your workforce to work remotely as quickly and as smoothly as possible?
How long can your business, and your people, go without access to your data before it’s at serious risk?
Check out this video for more about backups vs business continuity:
Unitec offers secure, robust backup solutions, business continuity planning and disaster recovery as a service to business of all sizes across Ireland. If you’d like some help to figure out the right solutions for your organisation, send us a message below:
