It is remarkable how much more capacity our data storage tools have than they had upon their initial invention, and how much data we’ve amassed in that time. The first-ever commercial hard drive was the size of two refrigerators, and held a mere five megabytes of data. For context, that’s about five photographs. Today, hard drives hold exponentially more data, and it is critical that you are doing everything you can to protect this data from any circumstance, from fire, severe weather, or cyberattack.
So, are you? Too many business owners aren’t sure… but there’s a way you can be.
Not All Data Backups are Created Equal
Let’s say that ACME is one of the businesses operating out of Grand Rapids, and that John Doe works in its sales department. John is aware of the risks of data loss, so he is careful to back up all of the data on his server to an external hard drive that’s plugged into it. This hard drive gives him a sense of security.
However, what happens if someone allows a ransomware attack in, encrypting the server? John Doe may feel confident that his data is safe—he has his backup, after all—but that will quickly change when he discovers that his connected hard drive was also encrypted in the attack. His data is well and truly gone.
This is precisely why it is so critical to establish backups that are designed to eliminate these risks.
This is Why the 3-2-1 Backup Rule is Considered the Standard
The 3-2-1 Backup Rule can be seen as a rubric for creating a trustworthy and resilient backup that you can entrust your business’ future to. The rule dictates the following:
At least three copies of your data exist at all times: one operational version and at least two backups.
This creates redundancy, which is precisely what you want. What if you experienced hardware issues, or your data was encrypted by ransomware? Redundancy means you have spare copies to fall back on in case of an emergency.
Your data is stored in at least two media formats.
On the topic of hardware issues, you also need to keep your backups on completely disparate systems. For instance, if your operational data lives in your office server, your backup should be stored in a different storage option, like the cloud.
At least one copy of your backup is stored offsite.
We mentioned the cloud for a reason: leveraging the cloud for your backup needs helps ensure that your data is safe from any potential threats to your business location, while still allowing you to access your work materials. Once your business is, well, back in business, you can restore your data from the backup copy.
The 3-2-1 Rule Only Works if You Follow It, and Closely
While some aspects of business continuity and data backup can be set once and left to run with minimal supervision, the smarter approach is to keep an eye on them to ensure they are reliable enough to trust. Ask if it is running automatically, whether or not you’re alerted to any issues with the backup process, and if your backups are sufficiently protected.
Alternatively, you can leave asking (and answering) these questions to us.
We’ll fully manage your backup and disaster recovery preparations, monitoring it at all hours and proactively testing it. Our goal is to ensure that, regardless of the circumstances, you will emerge from the situation with your data intact.
Data is Critical to Your Success, So Why Not Ensure It Will Be There for You?
Data is finally being held in sufficiently high regard, but that only means we all need to be more diligent about it in order to keep up. The 3-2-1 Rule is a handy, structured approach to achieving this diligence and enhancing your resilience.
This means that you need to take your backups seriously and attend to them proactively. This is where we can help. Reach out to us at (616) 828-5360 to learn more about our BDR services and how we can help you.