The importance of backup and recovery testing for businesses is crucial. It could be a matter of losing all your data if it is not backed up. It ensures that successful backups are implemented and that they can be restored in the event of a disaster. This article seeks to look at the potential threats’ businesses have, as well as the benefits of backing up data.
What are the threats?
Threats to businesses data are all around us. Here are a few to be aware of:
Natural disasters
These would include things such as floods, earthquakes, and fires, which pose potential threat to damage or destroy data storage facilities. This unfortunately can lead to the loss of critical data, and therefore have a significant impact on the business.
Cyberattacks
Cyberattacks are happening all the time. They come in many forms such as ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, malware, and data breaches. These can all destroy companies data, not to mention a financial loss, loss of downtime and the businesses reputation.
Hardware failures
Hardware failures are almost inevitable. Most people have experienced a hardware failure to their device they are using. This could be hard drive crashes, power outages, and water spillage which can damage or destroy data. This can lead to lost productivity and downtime, which costs your business money.
Backup and recovery testing helps to mitigate these threats by ensuring that the data that is backed up is accessible. It also involves being able to use the data in the event of a disaster. The testing process usually means restoring a backup to a test environment and validating that the data is complete and accurate. There are many benefits to backup and recovery testing, which we will talk about in the next section.
What are the benefits?
As briefly and informally mentioned above, the benefits to backing up your companies’ data is not to be overlooked. Backups are essential for any business.
Reduced downtime
If a disaster was to occur, backup and recovery testing can help to reduce the amount of downtime that your business experiences. The reason being is that the business will already have a plan set in motion for restoring data in an event that the worst was to happen.
Improved data security
Backup and recovery testing can help to improve data security by distinguishing and assessing any vulnerabilities in the backup and recovery procedure. This can help to avoid data loss from happening in the first place.
Increased peace of mind
Backup and recovery testing can provide businesses a peace of mind, knowing they are ready for a disaster. This can help to reduce stress and anxiety in an event of such a situation. Plus, it can also free up time and resources that can be used for other purposes.
Thinking of planning a backup and recovery testing program?
There are various things you need to consider when planning for a backup and recovery testing program. At Cambridge Support, we would be very happy to do this for you, but if you were to try by yourselves, we would recommend the following.
The frequency of testing
The frequency of testing will depend on the size and complexity of the business. This would also include the sensitivity of the date that is being backed up. For example, if a small to medium sized business with a reasonably small amount of data, may only need to test its backup and recovery system every 12 months. However, considering large enterprises that contain large amounts of sensitive data may need to test its backup and recovery system more frequently. This could be once a quarter or even once a month.
The scope of testing
The scope of testing should include all the data that is critical to the businesses operations. This may include customer data, financial data, intellectual property, and other important information that is relevant to the company.
The testing methodology
The testing methodology should be designed to simulate a real-world threat or disaster. This indicates that the business should test its competence to restore data from a backup and restore it in a timely manner.
The documentation of results
The results of the testing should be documented and evaluated by management personnel. This will help to establish any areas where the backup and recovery process can be perfected.
Conclusion
Backup and recovery is essential for any business. By following some of the tips mentioned in this article, businesses can ensure that their backup and recovery testing is effective. Cambridge Support have helped hundreds of companies over the years and with backing up their data and in the worst case, helping them restore their data in the event of threats.