Shane Kimbrell from Data Magic Computer Services Set To Attend DattoCon in Austin
We know that technology is ever-changing and if we don't stay ahead of the curve, our work will suffer. That's why we go the extra mile and attend important conferences and training that, in the end, will benefit our clients.
Our team focuses on learning the latest trends in technology – things like business continuity and backup solutions that ensure data security and restoration for organizations in Dallas/Fort Worth.
For example: Did you know that we can determine which of your employees are jeopardizing the security of your data?
Technology experts all agree that employees are a company's weakest security link. Just one wrong click by one of your users could compromise your entire IT system. Now we can identify exactly which employee may cause a data breach. We use a new tool that assigns a FICO-like score for each employee based on a variety of metrics. The score is based on dark web data, simulated phishing attacks, and the results of ongoing IT security training we conduct.
Our Employee Vulnerability Assessment lowers the chances that your employees could accidentally allow attackers into your computers and network. It demonstrates whether they are complying with your IT security procedures and policies. The information we obtain can also be used in your security awareness training to reinforce good computing behavior.
Do you think a backup alone is enough to support your business?
If you said yes, I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Data protection solutions are essential for all businesses regardless of size, industry, and geographic location. Having a data backup is a good first step, but you need more. Business continuity is equally important because it ensures your organization can get back up and running quickly if disaster strikes.
Data backup answers these questions:
“Is my data safe?”
“Can I get it back in case of a failure?”
Business continuity involves thinking about your business at a higher level and asks:
“How quickly can I get my business operating again in case of system failure?”
For example, if your server dies, you wouldn’t be able to quickly get back to work if you only had a file-level backup. Your server would need to be replaced, software and data re-installed, and the whole system would need to be configured with your settings and preferences. This process could take days.
Should you choose a local or cloud backup?
We think the right answer lies in between. A hybrid cloud leverages the advantages of local backup and the security of the Cloud.
Using local backup for business continuity works well for quick restores. This is because the data is right there, and it’s fast and easy to restore back to its original location.
But what if your power goes out, or if the backup device fails? And even worse, what if everything in your office is destroyed due to a natural disaster?
You might think using a cloud backup is best for all these reasons. But using a cloud-only backup is risky because you can’t control the bandwidth. Restoring from the cloud can be difficult and time-consuming as well.
A Hybrid Cloud Backup removes these risks. Your data is first copied and stored on a local device. This way, if something happens, you can do a fast and easy restore from that device. In addition, your data is replicated in the Cloud. So, if anything happens to your local backup device, you’ve got off-site cloud copies of your data.
Should you have an Image-Based Backup or File-Only Backup?
With a file-based backup, you choose which files you want to back up, and those files are saved to an on-site device or to the Cloud.
But, only files are saved. What if you forget to save a key file?
In this case, an Image-Based Backup would be best because it captures an image of your data in its environment. You'll have an exact replication of what's stored on your server, including the operating system, configurations, settings, and preferences.
If your server goes down, you can restore it in minutes, rather than the hours or days it would take to requisition a new server and install and configure the operating system.
Can you afford to lose this amount of time?
What we’re referring to is your Recovery Time Objective (RTO), the duration of time it takes to restore your IT system after a disruption. And Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – the maximum tolerable period of time when data could be lost due to a disaster.
We can help you calculate your RTO and RPO to determine the maximum time that you can be without your data before your business is at risk. And we’ll determine how often you need to perform backups. You may have an RTO of a day, and an RPO of an hour depending on what your business does.
What Have We Learned?
To sum up, here are some key things we consider when choosing the right business continuity solution for you:
- Hybrid Cloud Backup—A hybrid approach fixes the vulnerabilities that a cloud-only or local-only possesses.
- Image-Based Backup—This backup solution takes images of all data and systems rather than simply copying the files.
- Superior RTO and RPO—Think in terms of business continuity rather than just backup. We’ll calculate how much downtime your business can endure and still survive (RTO), as well as how much data you can afford to lose (RPO).
Data backup solutions come in all different flavors. No matter what solution you select, implementing data backup and business continuity should be a priority for your organization.
But, you don’t have to go it alone. Remember, we attend all the latest technology conferences and training to ensure you’ll have the best solutions to choose from.
