There are many things that an IT department can spend money on, but one of the most cost effective is online backup of servers and data. Having no data backup plan is a recipe for disaster and most businesses that make this mistake don’t have the opportunity for a second chance. It’s hard to explain to customers that their data is corrupted and there is no way to recover it. Manual backup is better than nothing, but still subject to human error. It’s also labor intensive, making it expensive and a drain on IT resources that could be put to better use on other projects. Automated online solutions offer the best bang for the buck, freeing up staff, eliminating human error and because data is online, it can be accessed almost instantly (instead of having to sort through tapes in a warehouse).
Storagepipe Solutions is a prime example of online backup providers that have become the first choice of many IT departments. The web — with 24 hour availability and the means to reach out to customers across the globe — has meant that companies are increasingly offering access all day, every day. When your business model includes 24/7/365 availability, your IT department faces a challenge in that any unplanned downtime is going to impact customers somewhere. Fifteen years ago, having a server infected by a virus requiring it be pulled offline for hours while the IT department worked on it was a problem, but at least you had a 50/50 chance that this would happen after business hours, so customers wouldn’t notice.
Storagepipe.com (which launched in 2001) and other online backup providers recognized early on that the days of three hour downtime would no longer be acceptable. When a server is backed up online, a catastrophic event like a virus can be remedied in minutes by restoring it from a saved state. If the server suffers a hardware failure, the entire backed up system can be quickly recovered onto a replacement computer. Storagepipe’s Fastback DR service is one such solution for companies that don’t have the budget to be running multiple redundant servers. Storing data through an online service provides the benefit of offsite storage, automation and eliminates the need to invest in costly backup media: hard drives, discs or tapes. It also eliminates the possibility of human error.
Online backup through a reputable provider makes a business more marketable (due to data security compliance), protects against downtime, saves money and frees up IT staff for other important tasks.
About the Author:
Joan Waters is an IT consultant who refuses to sign off on any project that doesn’t include a provision for backup software. According to Joan, there are just too many things that can go wrong when data recovery is left to chance. Any company she works with that provides client access to a system (by hosting a web application, for example) must have a server backup plan in place to reduce the risk of downtime.
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