What You Need to Ask Your Internet Backup Service
A Backup Article Contributed by Melissa Larose
What You Need to Ask Your Internet Backup Service
Using an Internet backup service can be a great addition to your existing backup plan. Using it as your sole source of backup is probably not a secure way to approach your data backup. Remember an Internet backup service is as susceptible to viruses, crashes, natural disasters, and electrical outages just as your network is. Using an Internet backup service as an additional option and the most easily accessible option is a great idea.
What Do You Need to Know about Internet Backup?
Internet backup, until recently, was not the popular choice for a backup plan. Security risks were seen as the most important reason not to use an Internet backup service. But time has changed that concern and although nothing is ever 100% secure the use of the Internet to backup data is much more so now than ever.
An additional reason for the rise in popularity of Internet backup is the cost of storage and the rise in popularity of disk backup systems. Tape has always been the storage media of choice and although tape is still king, disk drive-to-disk drive backup and storage is gaining on tape. Cost of disk drive storage has dropped and the sheer size of the hard drive storage capacity has grown tremendously. This has caused IT departments around the globe to take another look at using disk drives for Internet backup.
Ask Your Internet Backup Service
Before you can access whether an Internet backup service is right for your business, you must know what your business data needs are. This can be done through an evaluation process that includes all the departmental management staff. Analyze your data from the processes you use, to the way the data is gathered, to what happens if the system crashes and you can't get to your data. Analyzing your data should be part of the backup plan and is essential to arriving at the correct data recovery plan for you.
Once you know your data and have established storage size needs, data growth, and off-site storage needs, you are ready to ask the Internet backup service some questions. Here goes - What are their Internet connection speeds? Do they routinely run their own backup plan? They should be no different than any other business in this respect in fact, they should be more diligent in this area than most. After all, they are babysitting other people's data.
Here are some more questions to ask. What standards of security and customer service do they provide? Ask to see their facility in person. You want to make sure they have secure locations with detection systems, secure entry, insurance, and fire and smoke detection.
Backup Security on the Internet
Of course the questions posed need to include actual security issues with the servers themselves and the staff's training and availability to the customer. Don't settle for anything less than 24/7 customer service. This means someone on site 24/7. Many Internet backup service companies have someone on call and not someone on site to head off security issues.
