5 Tips to Boost Data Backup Services in Silver Spring
Organizations collect, use, and store information, from names and contact details to financial data and medical records, among others. Company data have become valuable assets that need to be protected. If you want to keep your data safe, data backup services in Silver Spring are available for you. But how do you ensure that you maximize your use of these services?
Here are some tips to improve your data backup system:
1. Conduct Backup Verification Regularly
Don’t be complacent about your backups, thinking that they will be there when you need them. You should check them on a schedule. Experts suggest doing it annually or whenever there is a significant change in your IT infrastructure.
The frequency of backup data testing in your online backup storage depends on several factors, including the following:
- How critical is the data, information, database, and system to your business?
- What are the data backup technology and processes used?
- How likely do you need the data during an emergency?
- Where do your data backup services in Silver Spring store your data?
- How quickly can the data backup technology and its process work?
The most critical test is about how updated your backups are during this verification process. You can do it by running restore tests after completing your backup. It will show whether all data has been successfully copied and verified to be working.
Backup verification is even more critical after essential software and security updates. These changes might lead to compatibility problems, which then cause backup failure.
2. Organize Schedules for Data Backup Services in Silver Spring
You cannot do data backups all at once. Instead, you should back up data that belong to specific categories. You could book your data backup solutions provider to work on the data of different departments at different times. It could also be about backing up data based on how critical they are to your operations.
Organize your files into different categories. It will allow you to oversee the backup jobs more easily without missing crucial data. It will also minimize the disruption to your organization’s day-to-day operations.
3. Monitor Backups with Updated Reporting
Give yourself peace of mind about the progress of your data backups. On top of getting reports from your data backup services in Silver Spring, use automated reporting. This system automatically logs in how much and which data has been successfully backed up.
Automated backup reports will show the percentage of backed-up data, which your stakeholders might want to know. It will also alert you about backup failures to be quickly resolved before they get worse.
4. Follow Data Retention Policies
Data backups cannot be stored forever, but regulations require what kind of data should be kept and for how long. Your company also has data retention requirements based on your operational needs. There are some types of data you need access to daily, weekly, monthly, or annually.
Observe regulatory requirements that organizations like yours need to follow. The US does not have a comprehensive federal data privacy law, like GDPR safeguards in the EU. Instead, it has different privacy laws covering different data types. These include HIPAA, FTC Act, ECPA, COPPA, and more.
It can get quite confusing if you’re an organization with several privacy laws to consider. You also have to deal with state data privacy laws. Instead of doing it yourself, you can count on data backup services in Silver Spring for help.
Figure out your company’s data retention requirements to enhance your data backup strategy. Get professional help identifying which specific data you need to retain and how long. It will help you avoid incurring penalties for violating regulations.
5. Diversify Data Backup
Experienced providers of data backup solutions know more than to store your backups in a single location. There should be multiple copies in different places for easy access when you need your data. Keeping the backups in various locations protects your data during a natural disaster.
Find the right combination of backup technologies that work for you. Talk to your provider of data backup services in Silver Spring about it. You might consider getting full backups on tape and storing extensively used files in the local disk. Cloud storage is also another available option to consider.
In the world of data backups, there is a 3-2-1 backup rule. It suggests making one primary backup and two more copies of your data. The rule also requires storing these backups in two different storage solutions. It further means storing one backup offsite.
The 3-2-1 rule of thumb minimizes the risk to your backups. If one fails, a device gets stolen, or a disaster hits your on-site files, you will still have other backups to use. It will reduce the danger of stopping your operations and putting your entire business on hold.
If you are looking for data backup services in Silver Spring, Swift Systems can help. Enjoy the best features of our backup recovery solutions. These include continuous data protection, flexible retention policy, incremental backups, web-based access, multiple backup sets, and more. Contact Swift Systems today for a free assessment!