With most businesses dipping into their disaster recovery strategies, and millions of workers either out of work or working remotely, it is honestly a great time to remind you that March 31st is World Backup Day. This is a day where we help promote the idea of taking backups of your crucial IT systems to ensure that you have access to your important information if a disaster were to strike your business.

Well, here we are...A disaster has struck millions of businesses from around the world in the form of Coronavirus. While having a dedicated backup system probably is the last of your worries at the moment, you may be surprised to learn just how important comprehensive backup strategies can be in times where you lose access to your physical infrastructure. 

Today’s redundancy best practices dictate that you keep at least one copy of your data in an offsite data center to ensure that you have access to it if something happens to your servers. We recommend skipping all of the consumer-grade backup solutions out there, and using a device called a BDR (short for backup and disaster recovery). In times like this, your BDR can be used as a temporary server, ensuring that you and your team have access to the data they need while they are being forced to work remotely.

This year’s World Backup Day may come at an inopportune time, but regardless of what is going on in the world the following practices remain important:

• The 3-2-1 Backup Method - The 3-2-1 method means that you keep at least three copies of your data. Two of these copies can be stored on central infrastructure, but one is kept in an offsite data center or other cloud storage facility.
• Backup Your Backup - You will want to check and double-check all backups to ensure they were successful. There are several reasons why a backup would fail, so you can’t just assume they are working as intended. Check them and then check them again. Your diligence will pay off when you need the data. 
• Protect Your Backup - You will want to put password protection on all devices that contain data. Today, many of these systems come with options for multi-factor authentication, which ensures that you get an extra layer of protection. You will also want to ensure that your storage is covered by an up-to-date virus and malware protection.

If you would like to talk to one of our IT experts about your data storage or building a backup and disaster recovery strategy that will work to ensure that your data is always protected, call us today at (415) 295-4898.