Here’s a well known fact in the IT world: disaster recovery isn’t exactly the same as backing up data.
Wait, you mean you weren’t aware of that?
Here are three reasons you need to invest in disaster recovery and not just data back up.
One: The Goal of Back Up is Speed, NOT Recovery.
When it comes to backing up data, whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly (we won’t even consider that some people think backing up quarterly or yearly is appropriate), recovery is a secondary consideration, if at all. Most backup systems focus on speed, and will take data apart, down to the smallest pieces possible. Trying to piece everything back together afterwards is like trying to assemble a million piece puzzle. It’s time consuming and nearly impossible.
Two: Backup Software Can and Does Fail
If you take a few minutes to search, you’ll find examples of what happens when software fails to update or install properly. Take a look at a few IT blogs, and you’ll see this is a frighteningly common occurrence. Now take into account that many backup systems rely on software that often is left to update itself and not checked until months later. That’s what happened to a Civil District Court in New Orleans, and they ended up losing all of their data from the 1980s forward.
Three: Planning Process
While planning a backup routine is relatively simple – just making sure that you have enough space to store the data – disaster recovery takes considerably more. A DRP (disaster recovery plan) requires determining which systems are vital, establishing a recovery order and communication process, and most importantly, a way to perform a valid test. While a backup plan is simple, a DRP aims to mitigate downtime and risk, while maintaining compliance and avoiding outages.
At Avantech, we work to protect your data in case of natural or man-made disasters, through the use of disaster recovery planning, solutions, and technology.