Everyone has some horror stories, especially when it comes to problems with backing up data. We have a few we’d like to share. Incidentally, if you know someone who has experienced one or more of these problems, we would love to help them down from the ledge. Because we’ve learned problems with backing up your data REALLY ought to be OUR problems, not your problems.
“I had no idea how long it takes to recover my data from that online backup service!”
Online backup – you hear it advertised everywhere and you feel absolutely dumb for paying more than pennies per month. Until you need to actually RESTORE the data. That’s when you discover you really do get what you pay for. Software as a Service (or SaaS) is becoming a very common and useful way to backup data. Just be realistic in expecting what your recovery time may be. When your data is missing, every minute seems like an eternity, doesn’t it?
“Oh, I only keep those files on my notebook (or on my PC).
Umm, they are backed up too. Right?”
You may be risking some of your most important data.
The technical team may make a decision to protect only certain servers, or only certain devices. Then the team creates policies where users must keep their “important” data on those servers or storage devices. And the data on the server may have first-class protection. But your laptop may not. The famous last words “I’m busy, so I’ll copy over my data tomorrow” may ring in your ears for a long time.
“What do you mean we cannot restore from the tape backup?”
Gartner Group reported 50% of tape backups fail to restore. Need more? Storage Magazine reports 77% of tape users have had tape restore failures. There are just so many things which can go wrong with tape backups: accidental erasure, over-writing the wrong file, forgetting to back up, not keeping orderly tape systems are just a few of the lead-ins to horror stories.
“Do you mean Windows SERVERS can get a virus too?”
Just curious: Is your backup software on a Windows server? This could mean you may be at risk for viruses. Windows is the leading target of computer worms and viruses. And Windows servers are as vulnerable to problems as Windows PCs and notebooks.
We can work through questions like these and help your business avoid becoming a horror story.
