Dell Small Business 360 - Data Archiving and Backup

Losing critical data — from customer information to financial statements — as a result of a computer virus, human error, fire or natural disaster, is something most small business owners fear. Losing valuable information can cost businesses serious money and put important relationships at risk.

But with the variety of fast, inexpensive backup storage devices now available, you don't have to gamble with critical files and can cross one more thing off your worry list.

"Every business knows they need a backup plan for their critical data but are often scared of the perceived complexity or too busy with their day-to-day activities to put a plan in place," says Greg White, small business storage brand manager at Dell. "Unfortunately, many businesses don't implement a backup strategy until they have actually experienced a significant data loss. At that point, it may be too late and their business may be in jeopardy."

For small businesses, it is very important that you have an archiving and backup strategy that is customized to your specific needs. An appropriate strategy is determined by several factors, including the type and quantity of data generated, the time available for backup processes to run, how long the data must be kept and how often a backup needs to occur, as well as regulatory requirements.

Data archiving is just what it sounds like — electronically storing data you no longer use on a daily basis but need to keep for various reasons. Thanks to technological advances and the dropping prices of storage solutions, long gone are the days of stacks of file boxes holding old paperwork, bank statements, samples of previous marketing materials and receipts. But the challenge of what to keep, and for how long, can remain.

To help make sure you are protecting your most critical data for the long term, a good archiving strategy is important. You need to understand the amount of data generated, how often you need to archive, the different paths of data movement through the organization, and levels of data classification and access. Identifying archived material is also key so you can find what you need easily.

To compliment your archiving strategy, regular data backup of information on your hard drives is critical. This is useful for two purposes: to restore data to a computer system following a disaster (called disaster recovery, which we plan to cover in more depth in a future Small Business 360 article) and to restore smaller numbers of files, if they have been accidentally deleted or corrupted.

Backups are typically that last line of defense against data loss. Since a backup system contains at least one copy of all data worth saving, the data storage requirements of the backup can be considerable.

However, technological advances have made it possible to track, capture, store and back up every "bit and byte" of data generated across an enterprise. The basic tenets of these storage options are the same for any organization, from a single employee home office to a sprawling multi-billion dollar global enterprise. The differences lie in the customization of different storage media, technologies and implementations and scaling for size.

Assessing Your Backup Needs
The basis for selecting and buying appropriate data storage and backup tools is understanding your business' needs. To evaluate your current storage requirements, ask yourself these three questions:

If your business is growing, it's important to plan for future needs. The more data you accumulate the more storage space you'll need. And as you add more employees to your network, your storage solution will need to support multiple users, systems and servers. According to Dell's Greg White, a few key factors can help determine your storage needs such as type, volume, mobility and flexibility, speed and future needs.

Type of Data: Determine the kind of data your organization generates and sort it based on media type. Different files have different sizes and need different storage capacities. For example, a large percentage of a media company's data will be music or video files that need larger storage space, while an accounting firm generates files such as word documents and spreadsheets that requite less storage capacity.

Volume of Data: Next, determine how much data you have to store. This will become important when you evaluate the storage capacity of different solutions.

For example, Dell's new PowerVault^TM  RD1000 removal disk drive has cartridges ranging from 40 gigabytes to 120. Rugged, removable disk media, such as the PowerVault RD1000, offers increased portability and durability over standard USB-based hard drive storage and may be faster and less expensive when compared to tape storage alternatives.

Mobility and Flexibility Needs: Once you know the type and volume of data you want to store, ask yourself how you plan to use this data in the future. Do you need a portable storage solution that supplements your notebook computer and supports your busy, mobile lifestyle, or are you more interested in somewhat static storage that serves as a backup to the data on your desktop computer or server? For example, a removable disk drive storage product is well suited for storing and moving large volumes of data quickly and easily, while burning backup CDs can be a time-consuming method.

Beyond the idea of data mobility is the issue of flexibility. Do you need continuous access to your data once it's stored? Are your data storage needs short term, long term, or a combination of both? The best solution for storage is usually a combination of products that address an organization's various needs.

Speed's the ticket: Some media are faster than others at permitting access to data. Decide how important speed is before making a purchase — it may mean spending more.

Future Expansion Needs: As you're evaluating your backup needs, consider your future plans and how it will impact data growth. Do your current needs reflect your future requirements? Do you want to consider investing in next-generation technology to avoid having to upgrade your backup devices in the near future? Do you anticipate your backup needs changing in the short term? Keep these issues in mind as you evaluate which products and devices are most capable of meeting your immediate needs and adapting to your future requirements.

Inventory Control
In order to develop a comprehensive and effective archiving and backup plan, you need to develop an inventory of your IT resources. Make sure you have all business notebooks, PCs, and servers and the information on them factored into the plan.

Backup Schedule
The storage plan should include a schedule to carry out data backup on a regular, timely basis. Depending on the volume of data generated, location, type of storage media and the critical nature of the data, the schedule can be set to either a continuous daily, weekly or monthly timeline. The time and manpower required to carry out backup should be factored into the schedule. If the business falls short on manpower, then small businesses can deploy continuous, unmanned backup options. A less rigorous schedule can be put in place for data archiving.