As with any project, event, or business, there are multiple risks that will come up along the way – some may be recurring, or some may be specific to new challenges or modes of working that you may experience. Given the adaptable nature of SME’s, it’s likely that you’ll face more one-off risks than larger businesses. As a result, it’s even more important to take steps to mitigate any potential technological hazards that could damage your organisation. One such step is backing up your data, but there are many mistakes that organisations make which reduce the efficacy of this procedure.
- No clear accountability
One common mistake that can be critically damaging to a small business is not realising where – if anywhere – the responsibility lies for backing up your data. Especially if your business uses a cloud service provider, it’s important to know that they may not necessarily be managed service providers. Equally, for cloud-based services like Microsoft or Google Suite, while they are largely reliable in backing up your data, are also not always responsible for proving backups. In the event of an outage caused by human error, these services are not liable for the loss of your data. As a result, you should always have an alternative backup solution, just in case.
- Not auditing backups for freshness and integrity
Much like any other piece of software, your backups and backup systems need to be kept up to date. If you don’t back up regularly, then if you lose your data, you’ll be out of date when trying to get your business back up and running. Equally, if your backup system is old or unreliable, then you run the risk of losing your data altogether. Making sure you implement a schedule to check and run tests on your backup systems is key to avoiding such pitfalls.
Similarly, neglecting the physical state of your backup disks or drive (if you have them in addition to cloud-based backups) can leave you vulnerable to data loss or damage. In the situation where you need it most, an incomplete backup can cause additional stress or complications when trying to get your business back up and running.
- Depending on a single backup approach
Only having one backup solution (such as relying entirely on cloud based solutions like Microsoft or Google, as above) puts your data, and your business, at risk. The more backup solutions you have, the safer your data is but, having too many is often too much to keep track of. One good solution is to use the 3-2-1 rule, where you have at least 3 copies, backed up to at least 2 different storage devices, with at least 1 located offsite. While this might seem complicated, the 3-2-1 system ensures that there is never one single point of failure, and your data should always be safe in at least one location at a single time.
Related to this point, once you’ve backed up, do it again! To ensure that your backups remain up to date, it’s recommended to set up a schedule to either manually or, ideally, automatically backup as regularly as possible.
- Leaving backups unprotected
Not protecting your backups, be they physical or cloud based, can lead to critical consequences for your data. In the same way businesses should protect the data they use in the moment, protecting your recent and historical backups is key to prevent fraud, viruses, or other digital risks.
- Not having enough storage space on the backup device
This may seem simple, but often it is easy to underestimate the amount of data you actually have. Being overconfident in your storage space can mean that your backups are left incomplete – to prevent this, be as generous as possible in your storage options.
Want to know more? Talk to one of our team or read some more articles from our blog. Equally, you might want to consider our Managed IT services, where our flexible and tailored plans work with you to mitigate any risks your business may face and help the technological side of your business run as effectively as possible. Interested? Find out more here.
