Disaster Recovery Insures Against the Risk of Data Loss

Disaster Recovery Insures Against the Risk of Data Loss

By Mary Wiglue

One of the key aspects of computer maintenance that is important to factor into costs is preparing for the risk of losing data or information. Hardware crashes, malware or viruses that corrupt files, outdated equipment that cause data failure, and even flawed or faulty components can create loss of data. Other losses often occur due to human error, negligence, forgetfulness, or lack of training.

An even more pertinent issue, however, is the role that natural disasters can play. Flooding or fire can completely destroy in-house technology, computers, servers and other equipment. The heat and smoke alone are sometimes all that it takes to completely obliterate a database. Another factor that might be worthy of considering is the possibility of theft, or of intentional sabotage by certain employees. The point is that no matter what kind of organization you have, the risk of losing valuable data is real, which means that smart businesses should have a disaster recovery plan in place before loss occurs.

The best way to protect your data is to back it up at an offsite location. If your hardware crashes or a fire burns down the building where your equipment is housed, your data will still be up to date and accessible through flexible cloud technology. Many businesses rely upon onsite technologies, such as external hard drives, memory sticks and other drives in order to back up data. This method is actually not very cost effective in terms of disaster recovery because, in the first place, a fire or flood can damage your external memory storage devices just as easily as these occurrences can damage your computer equipment. Even if you invest in a tape room or server with staff for maintenance and operation, including IT personnel to help keeps things up and running, this is not very cost-effective when compared with the alternatives. Minimizing risk by storing your data offsite increases the security of your information.

Storing your data online reduces costs and is far simpler than using more conventional or traditional methods. Cloud technology is to having an onsite tape room as the invention of the automobile was to the horse and buggy. Automated storage and retrieval is simple and easy, and costs for keeping your data secure are better structured and efficient. Many businesses of all sizes are discovering that shared resources from an online data storage facility are well worth the expenditures for the service. The investment quickly pays for itself while providing a level of security and accessibility that leave older methods for backing up data in the virtual dust.

About the Author : Offsite Backups (http://offsitebackups.com) provides data solutions such as providing a disaster recovery plan customized to the needs of our clients.

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