Feature:
Keeping the Business Going Once Disaster Strikes

America has been ravaged by numerous natural disasters in recent years. Entire cities have been decimated by hurricanes, fires and flooding. Businesses within these cities have not fared well, and those that did not have an offsite backup of their company data most likely did not survive at all. The lessons we have all learned from this are that every business needs offsite backup, but where to begin?

First, let’s distinguish between off site backup and disaster recovery. Offsite backup is only one component of a business’s disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery is defined as restoring the business back to normal operation after a disaster has transpired. Other terms used synonymously with disaster recovery are “operations recovery” and “business continuity.” I prefer the latter since it more clearly defines what the goal is: continuation of the business… no matter what happens.

If your business relies heavily on data and computers to operate, then off site backup is crucial to your business continuity plan. The method(s) for offsite backup that you choose is dictated by several factors:

• Budget
• How much data has to be backed up
• How fast you need access to the data in the event of a disaster

For the right price, you can duplicate your business network in a specialized disaster recovery building, however, such services are generally not feasibly priced for small and medium businesses.

At the most basic level, you’ll want access to files stored on your server. Online backup works great for this purpose. However, restoring files over the Internet can be a very slow process over standard Internet connections such as T1 lines and DSL. Online backup generally runs around $1 per gigabyte per month, so it is budget friendly.

Another more practical option is to have your backup media (tapes or disks) stored off site. Backing up to tape or disk, along with the right backup software, allows you to backup more than just files. You can backup your database applications (ACT, QuickBooks, Exchange, etc.) and also backs up the server operating system. Consequently, this method allows you to recover your business operations much more quickly.

Many business owners take their backup disk or tapes home or leave them in their cars (not a good idea). If you decide to take backups home, they should be locked in a fireproof safe. A good rule of thumb is to have two weeks of backup stored off site. A better option, especially if you lack the discipline of rotating the media out, is to have a document and media archiving company (e.g. IronMountain) handle the storage for you.

For the ultra paranoid and to ensure that you always have the most recent data, a combination of online backup and disk backup works best.

For more information on backup procedures, contact Chad Massaker of Carceron at c.massaker@carceron.net, 770-424-3393 or www.carceron.net.