Maxell announces Fall Back-Up Day: backup your data on Oct. 27
Think about what would happen if you lost the data on your computer or PDA (personal digital assistant). Frightening, isn’t it?
Maxell, a manufacturer of digital and analog data storage products, has designated Friday, Oct. 27 “Fall Back-Up Day” to coincide with the end of Daylight Saving Time—although with Halloween just a few days later, the campaign might also be “avoid the horror of a data loss by backing up.”
The point is to remind you of how critical it is that you back up your data on a regular basis, and store your backups in a secure place.
Data storage experts at Maxell cite many threats that can destroy, corrupt or deny access to critical business information including natural disasters, equipment failure, and malicious code (computer viruses, worms, etc.). Often overlooked is theft and loss of hardware. The FBI estimates that laptop theft is the second most common crime just after identity theft with more than 2 million notebook computers reported stolen each year, which doesn't take into account the systems left at airports, coffee shops, and bus terminals.
”Beyond theft, human error and equipment failure can be the most common problems with data loss, and more frequently than people may think, mostly when traveling,” said Andrea Peiro, CEO and founder of the Small Business Technology Institute. “There could be months or several years worth of proposals, sales data, personal contacts and much more that are suddenly lost and unrecoverable.”
Here’s what Maxell recommends:
- Understand Your Needs. Consider how much data will require backup by examining the current amount of data produced and stored on all systems and devices. This will determine the type and amount of media needed for backup activities. Also, estimate future data growth as part of a long term backup strategy. As a general rule, consider that company data will double every 18 months.
- Create a Backup Schedule. Commit to a daily back up routine along with weekly and monthly full back-ups. Critical data includes payroll and HR records; contracts, leases, and agreements; business records including accounting (AP / AR), customer history and orders, and operational data. Once a routine is established, backup can be conducted incrementally where only the data that has changed requires backup because a copy of older data already exists.
- Include All Data Devices. A storage backup routine should encompass desktops, laptops, servers and other devices including handhelds. According to a report from IDC, more than 300 million business PCs have a combined 109 petabytes of data – about half of all the corporate data residing on PCs and laptops – that is not backed up regularly.
- Protect and Secure the Backup Files. Keep portable backup media in a labeled protective case or package, so it stays clean, undamaged and organized. Scratches and debris on CDs, DVDs, and tape can impact the retrieval and quality of the stored data. It is highly recommended to keep storage media in racks or boxes designed to hold them properly and organized. And, always store backup copies of files off-site at a location that is far enough away so a disaster cannot destroy the backup and original source of the data. The removability characteristic of backup tapes, CDs, and DVDs meets these criteria.
Click here for more information from Maxell about data backup and storage media.
Jackie
Chief Blogger
Wealth Intelligence Academy
