St. Patrick’s Day is a good time to remind you that you shouldn’t depend on “luck” to protect your data. That’s why I’m going to share with you 3 common missteps companies make with data backup that you *might* be making.

1. Not Doing A Reverse Backup.
   If you use any line of business application in the cloud to store data – including accounting records, client files and the like – you should be backing up ALL of that data to your location on a regular basis. How frequently? That depends on how much you are willing to lose. If you could lose a week of data, then back up weekly. If the thought of losing a week puts you into fits, then back up daily. Most cloud providers are savvy enough to have redundant systems and backups of your data – but don’t risk it!
2. Depending On Employees To Save Data To Your Server.
   Many offices only back up their server; the problem is, employees often keep a LOT of critical documents and data on their workstations that are NOT being backed up; and if you’re depending on them to remember to do it, you’re asking for trouble. The right thing to do is automate your backups so ALL devices and data are backed up without depending on someone’s memory.
3. Having A Single Point Of Failure. 
   If you’re still using outdated tape drives (and we hope you’re NOT) you might discover that nobody can remember the password to access the data on it. Or there may be only one person in the organization who knows where your data is being backed up and how to access it. A smart move would be to walk through a couple of “what if” scenarios to see if you actually have what you need to recover your data.

Having a good, reliable backup and disaster recovery plan is essential for every business, and it should be installed and maintained by a pro. After all, if you knew there was a chance you could fall out of an airplane, would you want the cheapest parachute strapped to your back? Of course not – and that doesn’t mean you need to spend an arm and a leg for the most expensive one either.

If you’re not on our Backup & Disaster Recovery solution and you’re using a cheap offsite backup like Mozy or Carbonite, OR if you’re using outdated tape to back up your data, then give us a call IMMEDIATELY to find out how we can let you sleep easier at night with a far more reliable data backup. Plus, during the month of March we’re waiving the setup fee to anyone who upgrades – that’s a $2,500 savings to you! So don’t wait; call us today for a free consultation and backup assessment to find out how to protect yourself from data loss, corruption or extended downtime.