It’s important for all businesses, regardless of size or industry, to establish a strategy for data protection. You need clear backup policies for business stakeholders and IT. Not only that, but you need buy-in from all teams to ensure everyone is committed to upholding those policies.
The backup policy created can help to manage the users’ expectations while providing specific guidance regarding the who, what, when, and how of the process to backup data or restore it.
What is a backup policy?
Before diving into the bigger details of a backup policy, it’s a good idea to get to know more about exactly what this is.
Backup policies are pre-defined and run on a set schedule. At the designated time, information from business applications including email server database, Microsoft SQL, Oracle and user files is copied over to a tape and/or disk/drive to make sure that the data can be recovered if there is an accidental deletion, information that is corrupted or any type of system outage.
Why are backup policies so important?
There are several benefits to creating a backup policy. A solid backup policy does the following:
- Helps to clarify responsibilities, procedure and policies
- Dictates where backups are located, who can access backups, how data is backed up, the type of backups performed and what software and hardware is needed
- Identifies other procedure and policies in place currently
- Provides a defined schedule for backups
- Identifies the person or people responsible for backups
- Ensures that all data can be restored
- Guarentees that there is more than one copy of the backup
- Ensures that several types of media are used for backed up information
- Notes if the data is going to be archived
When all of this information is located in a single, central location, it makes it much easier for anyone who needs the information to have access to it. Also, with a backup policy in place, anyone who’s new to the office or project can be provided the documentation that will provide guidance and information.
Tips for creating a backup policy
Now that you know what a backup policy is, and why it is so important, use the tips here to help you create one for your company or organization.
Establish a file organization standard
When you decide to enact company-wide backups, organization is essential. You need to develop a standard way to sort your files that you (and everyone else who uses the information) are familiar with. That includes where the files are stored and how the files are named.
This is the very first step to successfully backup your data.
Clear data storage organization will help you save quite a bit of time and stress when it is time to retrieve any lost data and then restore it to the right location. Taking the time to organize your work product is always a smart move.
Determine the backup method you will use
Before you even start to write the backup policy for your company, you have to decide what method of backup you want—cloud, physical or both.
Remember, there is some critical data that you may need to back up with several different methods. This can help ensure it is protected and preserved regardless of the issues that may arise.
What type of data should you back up?
Another important tip when creating a backup policy is to determine the types of data that you are going to be backing up. For example, are you planning incremental backups, full backups or full image backups?
By knowing what data to back up, you can better craft your policy.
Create your local backup system
It’s a good idea to have all of your important files backed up locally. Be sure that these files are physically on-site at your company or office. This makes it easy to retrieve information and for you to maintain control of your important files.
Create an off-site backup system
While having access to important files on-site is important, it’s also a good idea to have a copy of your files in a different location than actually at your office. This is going to provide you with two primary benefits:
- Catastrophe prevention
- Redundancy
When you have a second backup in place, there’s value in redundancy. If your local backup plan fails, it won’t be a problem.
In some cases, the backup could fail because it didn’t run to begin with or because it didn’t run properly. Other issues could relate to data degradation, media filter, hardware failure or even cyberattack.
A second data backup in another location also provides catastrophic prevention. For example, if your office were to catch on fire, everything you have on site—including backed up data—would burn. When you have off-site backup, this isn’t something you have to be concerned with.
Creating a backup policy: now you know
There’s no question that having a quality backup policy in place is important.
The information and tips here will help you create one that will help your company maintain important data and ensure it isn’t lost in the event of a catastrophic incident, theft or another issue that may occur.
For more information, you can also reach out to your managed IT services provider.