While it may seem obvious why you should protect your data with backups, a professional approach to planning a defense requires that every conceivable threat is recognized and addressed by the solution you finally select. Data loss disasters have many causes and every one of them is too common to ignore.
In addition to planning for all of the threats, it's also critical that you understand that backup is only half of the protection equation. Without a quick and surefire recovery, your company could still be severely hurt by a data loss.
The value of providing the best backup and recovery system for your data is at the very heart of business continuity. How your company responds to a data loss crisis will have impacts on both your financial bottom line and your professional image. With the best data backup and recovery system:
When it comes to backup and recovery solutions, one size does not fit all. Deciding on an effective system comes down to the value of the data that you want to protect. Unimportant data doesn't need an expensive backup solution. Data that is the lifeblood of your business needs the best protection you can buy.
1. First, categorize the business data that you want to backup – the important, the very important and the absolutely critical.
2. Ask yourself "What is the value of this data for every hour it is unavailable?
3. What are the consequences if this data was lost forever?
4. What are the consequences if it fell into the wrong hands?"
By categorizing your data according to its value, you will be able to create a plan that best matches backup cost to the quality of protection required. Then you can establish a system according to the following considerations for each of the three main backup technologies.
Local, Cloud and Hybrid Cloud/Local
To help you wade through all of the considerations in selecting a system, we've created a table that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the three kinds of backup options.
Local backup: This is the method of backing up to a local tape or disk drive that businesses employ on-site. It's good for fast recovery but the original and on-site backup can be lost in a fire.
Cloud backup: Answering the need to store data off-site, Cloud systems use the internet to upload backup data to a remote data center. The best Cloud solutions automate this process so the user can basically just 'set it and forget it.' There are two levels of Cloud backup systems: business-class and consumer-class. Unlike business-class, consumer-class systems are very inexpensive (or free) but offer little support, security or extra service.
Hybrid Cloud backup: Simple cloud systems have one problem: in a data crisis when large volumes of data need to be restored from the cloud, Internet data transfer by normal ADSL or cable is often too slow. A Hybrid Cloud system solves this by adding an integrated local backup to the cloud backup system. The same software automation ensures 'set it and forget it' simplicity while the duplicated local data means data can be restored in minutes instead of hours.
"Most of my employees have Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media accounts. They also have unfiltered email access. My fear is what they say and how it reflects on my company. Additionally I am concerned about the information they are sharing in the process, are they spreading company secrets and proprietary trade information? I don't know? Can they ruin my company's good name in the marketplace? That is what I cannot control."
What my clients has expressed is worry about reputation risk. Reputation risk is a concept I often discuss when talking about business continuity (BC). Reputation risk in BC is simply how long can you be out of service before your company is viewed negatively and your customers start to seek other suppliers.
Overall, reputation risk is something that is important to every company as your reputation and good name is often what your company is built on. Your clients believe you can deliver and have their best interests in mind when providing products and services. You only have to look as far as two recent situations that outline my clients concerns above.
In 2004 the loss of Intellectual Property (in this case Personal Data) was a big stain on ChoicePoint's reputation as nearly 160,000 citizens had there personal data breached. Initially, the company only notified 35,000 and as a result of this situation a number of new regulations around safeguarding private information was put into law. This is still a black cloud over the company as for many people this is all they know about ChoicePoint and their confidence has been shaken.
More recently, we have the BP situation where that company's reputation literally changed overnight. Social Media played a huge role in keeping the failures of the efforts to contain the spill broadcast to the public in a real-time format. PR spin was thwarted by the immediacy of the information being provided via social media outlets. The company's valuation has reduced significantly and it is likely BP will have a very tough time rebuilding its reputation, if it can at all.
I thought about this and then thought about my own use of these tools. While I express that the views are my own and not those of my employer, it really does not change the fact that when people hear me speak they think of PCNet. Also, as my social media audience grows so does my reach, my words can be viewed by more and more people every day.
Then I thought about the type of information I routinely email on a regular basis and realize I send a fair amount of Intellectual Property, both my companies and my clients. This can include network diagrams, technology reviews, and other IP gathered as part of our consulting engagement.
I asked our technical team how a company can protect themselves from the concerns my client expressed. I was told there are four fundamental steps that can be taken to reduce the risk outlined above.
1. Internet content filtering: Companies can use internet filters to block access to Social Media sites from access within the work environment. While this will not stop all access as employees can access those outlets from home, it shows that a company has a best practice in place for reducing the risk.
2. Acceptable Use Policies (AUP): More and more companies are extending their Internet AUP's to include Social Media and express that your views be consistent with those of the companies or you can be suspended/terminated. These AUP's extend beyond the work place.
3. Email Encryption: Protect all data that leaves your offices via email by implementing encryption controls. Rules can be setup to automatically encrypt an email based on keywords. Certain information can be blocked completely to insure that IP is not being sent from the office to home or personal accounts. Also, this email is scanned for profanity and other negative keywords to insure better communications with clients.
4. Social Media Monitoring: Monitor Twitter, Facebook, and other SM outlets for what is being said about your company or brand. Engage those who speak negatively and see what you can do to improve your brand or service perception.
These steps can assist companies in controlling and safeguarding the distribution of information that can affect your reputation (and bring you more control as my client desired). Ultimately, if your business provides a solid product or service, your reputation risk should remain low as the work speaks volumes about your company far above the chatter found out in cyberspace.
Okay enough drama.
What I quickly learned is that it is good to keep an old phone handy for times like these. The Verizon Wireless staff member that was assisting me looked up my account history and noticed that I was a longtime Verizon PDA customer. He asked me if I still had my most recently replaced phone (a Windows Mobile edition Samsung i760) to which I answered yes. Problem solved.
He gave me the activation steps required to bring all services online. I went home and charged the old phone, reactivated the service and reconfigured my email. I was back in business until my replacement Droid arrived that Monday.
I missed many of the applications (especially my Social Media apps) I use on my Droid, but in a pinch it was great to get my most important services (email, telephone, and web) operational within hours instead of days. When my new Droid arrived I simply did the same activation steps on the replacement all all of my services were restored.
So my advice to you is don't get rid of your old phone you may be surprised how valuable it can be!