All of the work we do nowadays is on devices and stored on electronic drives. There is rarely, if ever, any physical copy on us, and unlike physical storage, electronic storage has a penchant for failure. Meaning at any point, for multiple reasons, you could lose all your data.
It’s not just personal computers either. Companies and businesses can lose their invaluable data because of something unprecedented. Whether it’s a natural disaster or human error, it’s only understandable to be prepared if something similar ever befalls your business.
But if you prepare for disaster, then you are ready for anything.
Backups and recovery tactics are our only defense against these hurdles, and we need to utilize them effectively, which means preparing our backup and recovery plans in advance!
What are Data Backup and Data Recovery?
The first thing to know is the difference between Data backup and data recovery;
- Backup refers to the process of storing your data, how you do it, how often you do it, where you keep it, etc. Some people prefer to back up their data physically over hard drives and other storage devices, whereas others prefer non-physical methods of storage such as cloud storage services.
- Recovery refers to the process used to retrieve data in the event of a disaster or a loss of data in any way, shape, or form. This disaster can include the physical server malfunctioning and going down or the company’s site being the target of a cyber-attack.
Why are Data Backup and Recovery Plans so Important?
A lot of different scenarios could cause you to lose your data, from technical to physical glitches. Few examples may include;
- Physical server failure
- Cyberattacks
- Human error
- Malware and Viruses
- Power Outages
- Natural Disasters
- Software Corruption
And more.
Major and minor companies alike tend to store their most essential data on digital mediums. Losing this data would be devastating for any company as it can affect their business continuity, halting all the operations.
Data backup and recovery plans are crucial to ensure you get your data back. And while it’s often not impossible to do so without these plans, it can end up costing a lot of human resources and time, during which all your work will have come to a standstill.
What are the Different Methods to Backup and Recover your Data?
The methods companies use when planning their data backup and recovery services are usually up to their personal preference or are part of the standard services provided by their hosting service.
But what are the options generally available to you?
Backups Plans
In terms of backups, there are two things to consider:
Where do you want to store the data from your backup, and
which backup process do you prefer.
Location-wise, you can decide whether to store the data from your backups in physical hard drives or cloud-based storage services. Some options skirt between the two, utilizing both a physical medium and a cloud-based one.
The Backup process refers to how often and how much you want to backup your business’ data. We can categorize these processes as:
Full data backups:
The most basic and comprehensive type of data backup and are precisely what they sound like! All the data is backed up from beginning to end; regardless any changes were made to it or not. It is also the most time-consuming type of backup. One of the advantages of full data backup is all of the data is stored at one location, so the restoration time is minimal.
Incremental data backup:
As the name suggests, it stores and backups the data changed since the last full backup. It means you only backup the parts of data that have been altered or added to the company’s overall data. Incremental data backups are added to the previous backup instance, making them faster and requiring less storage space.
Differential data backup:
Like incremental data backup, a full backup is done initially, copying all the data changed from the first backup. However, it continues to copy all the data changed since the previous full backup every time it is run. It is an outstretch between the full data backup and the incremental data backup.
Recovery Plans
There are also multiple types of recovery plans to take into consideration for your business. Some of them work to prevent data loss from ever occurring, whereas others work to mask the idea that there was ever any data loss at all.
The types of recovery plans most often focused on though involve disaster recovery. These plans come into action when something disastrous happens and the business loses its data for an utterly unforeseeable reason.
- Preventative Disaster Recovery:
It refers to methods used to ensure that disasters or unforeseen circumstances do not cause you to lose your data in the first place. These recovery plans often involve using your company’s location. They include; having backup generators on standby in case of power outages or support personnel to deal with data recovery as soon as a disaster may occur. - Cloud-based Disaster Recovery:
It involves using cloud-based services to help you recover your data in a state of emergency. Many IT businesses use similar cloud services to support their clientele since they can not always be on-site. - Physical Disaster Recovery:
Like Cloud recovery, It is also focused on helping you restore your data as soon as possible. But instead of a cloud service, a physical copy of the company’s data is kept in a hard drive for data recovery.
Conclusion
A company that doesn’t have a backup or recovery plan is waiting for disaster to strike. Even if the chances of something befalling your website or your company are minuscule, there are no downsides to having the insurance that your data is perfectly safe.
Be smarter, prepare in advance, and save yourself a lot of trouble and resource loss.
We hope this article helped you with any questions you may have had about backup and recovery plans. If you are still finding all of this cumbersome, do not hesitate to contact us. We will ensure your data backup and recovery plans are rock solid!
Good Luck! 🙂
I am a junior social media manager and content writer at Genetech Solutions, one of the leading software houses in Pakistan. I am aspiring author, currently studying in LUMS, pursuing a degree in History and Literature in hopes of becoming a professor one day myself!
