Businesses rely on data and the data management systems that information resides on. Data fuels business decisions and is thus integral to daily and long-term business objectives. In such a way, data is one of the most important assets of a company. In recognizing the importance of data integrity in today’s highly regulated corporate environment businesses must be accountable for the veracity and availability of critical business information. Data must be complete, available and recoverable. In order to maximize data availability it is necessary for a company to engage in a well-planned, monitored data management process.

A myriad of statistics relate the loss of data to the loss of business opportunities and the business itself. The news of recent disasters striking hurricane prone locations has brought the need for adequate and reliable backup to the forefront. In reality, less than ONE percent of data loss is due to natural disasters where as hardware failure accounts for nearly 80 percent of the loss.

Tape Based or Disk Based Solutions

The technology to adequately backup and restore data is readily available, yet too many businesses do not take the time to plan and implement a proper solution. Only when an issue arises, from a lost file to a complete failure of the server, do they think of the consequences.
In the past, companies relied on on-site back-up methods – the most common being tape back-up. This method has serious limitations. Tape backups are prone to a high rate of failure for many reasons including mechanical failure, human error and tape degradation. Tape backup is also extremely slow so it can take a long time for large amounts of data to be backed up to and restored from tape. Tape backup technology uses differential and/or incremental backup to reduce the time to backup. However, this can result in even slower restores. Due to how long it takes to backup, the backup is usually done only once per day. Data recovery is then limited to only one restore point and if there is something wrong with the tape, the IT department may have to go into the archive of the tapes for a viable restoration. This may result in data loss of a day or more, that is if the data can be restored at all.

The recent trend, based on the importance and also the abundance of data, is to move from the tape based solution to a disk-based or a layered approach that would use both. The disk-based solutions offer distinct advantages over tape-based including faster backup and restore times, enhanced reliability and an overall reduction in cost of ownership. They also offer an addition of tools to manage the process. For example, by installing a backup agent on a laptop, the pertinent data can be backed up on a regular basis via the Internet, securing the data of a mobile workforce.
Disk-based solutions dramatically increase the speed of backup by backing up the file once and then only backing up the new and changed files. Some software also have the ability to retain multiple versions of the file in case you need to return to a previous version.

Another great feature of some disk-based solutions is the ability to synchronize the data on the servers with a secondary “backup server”. The backup server may be either onsite of offsite- housed at a secure facility. The synchronization of the server ensures that the backup data is kept current, thus nearly eliminating any data loss. By locating it offsite, the data can survive in the event of a disaster.

Data Restoration

The reliance on computers and data comes to the forefront when a disaster hits. At any time, data loss can occur due to user error, natural disasters, or hardware failure. At this point, it is crucial to get the systems functional and to do it a quick as possible. Each hour of down time can cost thousands. This is where the speed of disk becomes most valuable. A number of data recovery tools allow for the quick recovery of servers, desktops and laptops. This is done by creating snap shots of the systems and their configuration. In contrast, a tape solution would require the system to be rebuilt first and then migrate the data afterwards. In addition to the increased time, all too often the system cannot be rebuilt to the state it was in before the failure.

Once a business has implemented a backup solution, it must be tested on a periodic basis. You need to assure yourself that the system is complete and functional at all times. The ability to recover from a disaster can be the difference between a business surviving or not.

For further information pertaining to IT Controls or Off-Site backup please contact Qahim Moosavi at (610) 784-0155 or at qmoosavi@marg.com.