Data Backup Digest

It’s all very well having a great method for backing up your business data, but what about when it comes to actually storing it? There’s no use having a brilliant backup if it’s stored poorly and gets damaged – all you’re left with is two sets of useless data. There are many different methods that you can opt for, but this article will examine storing your backup data in three ways: on the same hardware, in the same building, but on different hardware, and offsite. We’ll examine each in turn and weigh up the pros and cons, before concluding which is the best option for your business.

On the same hardware

Right off the bat, it’s worth noting that this is the worst possible way to go about backing up your data. The absolute no-no is having the backup on the exact same hard drive as the data that you’re copying. This is a pointless exercise. If the hard drive fails then you not only lose the original data, but you also lose the copy.

You could use a separate hard drive on the same server, but even this is unadvisable, since you could suffer something like a power surged server. Try and keep your backups as distant from the original data as possible. That way if something affects the main drive then it isn’t going to automatically affect the other.

In the same building, on different hardware

This is a slightly better option, although still not brilliant. You could, for example, store the backup on another server or on an external NAS.

The good thing about this is that if you lose the original data then the backup is instantly available to you. It doesn’t require a whole lot of expertise to maintain either, plus it’s pretty cost effective.

The big downside with this is that if there’s an issue in the building then the backup is at risk of being damaged. It could be something like fire or water damage, or perhaps even a robbery, that would lose you access to all sets of data.

Offsite

This is the best option out of the three. Storing your data offsite, perhaps with a professional company, ensures that anything occurring in the office won’t affect your backup. The best companies will store your data in climate controlled facilities, ensuring that your data is kept well intact.

A benefit of handing your data to an offsite company is that your staff can invest their time elsewhere, rather than having to keep an eye on backups. Also, data storage centres will useful if your data has to be audited at any point.

Bear in mind that it’s worth selecting a company that is relatively nearby. If you need to get a physical copy of your data quickly (and not through an internet transfer), then having the storage centre hundreds of miles away isn’t great.

Although it may be more complex to setup, especially with security (due to the transfer of data over the internet), it’s worth taking the extra step to ensure the protection. A concern may be the slower backup due to the data transfer speeds, but this can be solved by performing the backup off hours.