In just the last couple of years, we’ve watched as companies all over the world have moved to fast-track their investment in data center transformation. We’ve witnessed the rapid rise of remote work, as countless employees now complete their daily responsibilities from their homes or other far-flung locations. With this kind of agile, nimble workforce comes a need for an equally agile, nimble way of managing data.
Not only that, but when you revamp your approach to data, you also have to take a hard look at how you’re approaching data backup and disaster recovery (DR). Backing up files on tape the old-fashioned way isn’t going to cut it anymore – you need an efficient, reliable backup plan that will move at the speed of business today.
According to TechTarget, this is one of the most pressing challenges that businesses are facing in IT today. Backup and recovery are reaching entirely new levels of capacity and complexity, and it’s important for organizations to plan meticulously if they want their strategies to be effective. Backup is not as simple as just buying one software solution, running it, and calling it a day.
“Don’t just assume that because the backup software says it’s done that it really is,” said Aaron Philipp, principal at business advisory firm EY. “Identify who in your organization is responsible for having a deep understanding on how the backup systems run – and make sure that’s more than one person.”
Let’s take a closer look at five key challenges that organizations face as they look to streamline backup and DR.
- Scheduling backups regularly: Backing up your data can’t be a one-time thing – you have to be creating new backups constantly, ensuring you always have the latest files available. Getting this process going on a reliable schedule, like clockwork, needs to be a top priority.
- Preventing data corruption: Recovering backed-up versions of files won’t do you much good if you discover that some of those files are corrupted – or worse yet, altogether missing. Keeping your backups secure is obviously important for this reason.
- Aligning with your architecture: Do you have the physical IT assets needed to back up all your data, secure it, and have it available when you need it most? It’s important to make sure your backup strategies and your IT architecture are on the same page, working together.
- Setting data backup priorities: The truth is that not all data is created equal – some files are more important than others, and in a time of crisis, you need access to your most important stuff first. If you have a clear list of your top data priorities, you can act quickly under pressure and make smart decisions.
- Protecting against ransomware: Attacks from ransomware and other threats are common, and they’re only becoming more so in today’s climate. You will need to frequently update your security infrastructure, ensuring that you always have the right tools to detect and neutralize suspicious activity.
So – where does your business stand when it comes to data backup and disaster recovery? In this era, with so many employees working remotely and so much data being passed around from location to location, having a clear game plan is more important than ever. If you need a little help, never fear – Zones is here to show you the way. We have a Backup as a Service offering that will make the whole process easy, not to mention plenty of resources on our website that will help you better understand the challenge you’re up against.
Get started today by checking out our eBook, on the most critical reasons to beef up your backup today. Then, connect with a Zones Account Manager, and we can discuss next steps.
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