Why You Should Always Test Your Backup

Data backup is an integral part of any business continuity strategy, but there are so many different parts to it that it’s not surprising some slip through the cracks if left unchecked. If you’re not taking measures to keep disasters from derailing operations, you could lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. We’ll discuss the critical parts of a data backup and disaster recovery system, including how and why you should test your backups periodically.

What Are the Key Parts of Data Backup?
The ideal data backup solution consists of three major parts, all of which have a key role to play in the success of the solution. They are the following:

• Snapshot-based backups: Backups that are taken periodically throughout the workday are your best bet to minimize data lost to disasters. They should be taken as often as every fifteen minutes to guarantee minimal data loss.
• Quick data recovery: Your ideal backup solution needs to have rapid data recovery that can be implemented within a moment’s notice. This is to minimize downtime so your business can get back in action following a disaster.
• Testing to ensure proper backups: Your organization should periodically test backups to make sure they go off without a hitch. How periodically is up to your organization, though we recommend testing as often as possible.

Why Testing is Important
Imagine this scenario: you’re just going about your business like any normal day when a disaster of some sort strikes. Whether it’s a power surge, a tropical storm, or even a hacking attack, it makes no difference. The point stands that unless you do something, your organization won’t be able to survive. Thinking that you have a backup ready to use, you don’t worry too much, but when it comes time to actually restore the backup, you find out that it’s corrupted and it won’t work.

This is why testing your backups is important. It eliminates any doubt in your mind that your business could fail as a result of a faulty backup.

What You Can Do
Working with a managed IT provider can make the entire backup process much easier and more manageable. All it takes is knowing the right one to call. In this case, it’s OnSite I.T.. Our managed IT services, including data backup and disaster recovery, can help your business succeed. To learn more, reach out to us at (403) 210-2927.