Today, many businesses clearly know how important it is to regularly back up their data. They realize that without data backups, they’re at risk of losing critical business files in case the hard drive fails or there’s a cyberattack. However, keeping a regular backup is not enough. You need to test that backup as well to make sure that you can retrieve your important data right when you need it.
Why is it so important to establish data backups? Here are a few reasons:
- Shielding data against natural or synthetic disasters (such as hacker or insider attack);
- Guaranteeing compliance with tax, fiscal, and other industry criteria;
- Maintaining relationships with customers;
- Decreasing idle time and interruption;
- Boosting productivity;
- Establishing integrity with clients, stakeholders, and workers.
It’s recommended to back up data in three locations: on a local, on-site computer, on a remote device, and in the cloud. The third alternative provides you with the most flexibility because you can access data from anywhere, irrespective of circumstances in your specific environment.
However, although many individuals know they need backups, very few of them run recovery tests. The worst time to realize there’s an issue with your backup solution is when you need it the most.
The Importance of Testing Your Data Backups
When you maintain regular data backups, it can give you peace of mind. However, you can only be sure of your solution if you regularly test your capability to recover your system from a backup. This is where testing your backup can come handy.
Here’s why testing data backups is essential:
Verify Available Data
Testing allows you to validate the essential data is accessible for recovery. Moreover, you can find out how to actually implement recovery after a data loss. In the event of backup test failure, you can take the measures required to make sure you don’t actually mislay valuable data. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting money at storage space and backup services that are of no use.
Keep Track of Hardware/Software Changes
Regularly monitoring will help you keep an eye on any software or hardware variations that may influence your data backups. By means of testing, you may also determine if some workers are storing data at a place that isn’t being backed up. As a result, you can step in with those workers or extend your backup procedures to save that data from getting misplaced.
Identify a Data Backup Software Misconfiguration
Running backup tests can also help you recognize any misconfiguration in the backup software. You can also identify whether or not you are properly addressing your backup needs. For example, you may not have configured a complete backup or you may be backing up the data but not the settings. A wide majority of data backup software send error messages if there’s any problem with data backups. Nonetheless, your overworked IT staff is likely to miss these messages.
Ensure Data Accuracy
Active backup testing allows you to validate contingency data precision and efficiency. Moreover, you can determine how long it takes to perform the backup. Also, you can identify any problems that occur during recovery. It also helps you ascertain the steps needed to address those difficulties.
Wrap Up
When it comes to data backups, these are a few things that you must consider proactively. Although some individuals say they perform better under pressure, most of us think more clearly and work more effectively if not in the middle of a data disaster.
A managed service provider can help you test your data backup and recovery. Our IT specialists can help you detect and prevent failures. They can make any alterations needed to get your backup running correctly again. Recovery testing will ensure things keep running smoothly, ensuring business continuity.
Give us a call at (215) 600 – 1771 to discuss your backup requirements. We’ll make sure your backups work the way you want. We’ll also set up regular backup restore tests.
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