Backups & Disaster Recovery
Backups have become a mundane part of life. Our phones backup on their own. Our email is backed up without us knowing it. We store files in the cloud and on our computers, creating a backup. For home use, these limited backups meet the need. However, for businesses truly robust backups are more important now than ever. With data spread across multiple locations and different environments, knowing what needs to be backed up and how to accomplish it can be a challenge. Here are just a few of the things that need more than a basic backup:
- Email: Email has become a driving force in communication. Important information, contracts, and even bills are transferred through email, and the loss of any of them could have a major impact on productivity.
- One Drive and Sharepoint: As businesses move to the cloud, Sharepoint and One Drive have taken the place of or serve to augment traditional file servers. As with those traditional file servers, the files in cloud storage can be lost or corrupted.
- Traditional Servers: File servers are not the only servers with important information on them. SQL servers regularly provide the backbone for custom applications. Domain Controllers allow users to sign in to the network and manage file access. The loss of any server could cost hours of productivity.
How backups are handled is just as important as what is backed up. Years of experience have cultivated an environment at C-Forward that takes a holistic approach to the management and maintenance of backups. In the event a restore is needed, we want to be certain that it will work. With that in mind, we do the following:
- Redundant Copies: Backups are stored locally with the server and replicated offsite. The offsite copies are distributed across redundant storage in datacenters across the country.
- Testing and Review: Monthly restores are performed on all backups to ensure they work. These restores are then independently verified.
- Training: Time is of the essence in an emergency. We do monthly disaster recovery simulations to keep our skills fresh.
- Monitoring: Backups and retention are checked daily to ensure consistency. Issues are worked on as soon as they are found and resolved as quickly as possible.
Recovering from a disaster can be a stressful and time-consuming process. We strive to minimize both and our team will work with you to determine what will be needed to meet your recovery time table.