Limited Budget Backup Solution

A Backup Article Contributed by Melissa Larose

Limited Budget Backup Solution

Follow the example of IT geeks and you too can develop your own backup solution. The advantage the market has over most businesses is that they package backup solutions and sell them to the public without the public ever considering that they may be able to design a more viable backup solution for themselves at less cost. This partly occurs because management and CEO's across the country are not equipped with the information or knowledge they need in order to design their own system.

Of course it is not as simple as just coming up with a solution it will take planning and time but if the incentive is there the process can move along at a good pace. The problem is it is simpler to pay more and get a complete package and use the time and manpower to some other project. But do you know that you have gotten what you really need? Only a great IT team can tell you that.

Backup Solution Planning

Designing solutions that fit a particular time frame is a good place to start. Information technology and its products have a development pace that makes heads spin, so planning in increments of 7 to 10 years is just not a good way to approach a backup solution. Working in increments of 2, 3, and maybe even 5 years will work better with the marketplace. Always staying in the level of cutting edge is not a place for most businesses, too much risk between the product and the actual acceptance and use of it for the money you need to plunk down.

Backup Solution Requirements

Knowing what your backup solution requirements are before designing your own system is vital. Assuming you have already assessed your data value and traced data needs per function and department, you will know where your data comes from, who needs access to it and when, and what your disaster plan needs are in case of a computer crash or natural disaster that damages your system and possibly your data. You must have this information before a budget conscious solution can be designed otherwise you could be wasting your time and money.

So now you know what your backup window is and you know the speed at which you must perform your backups. You know the growth rate of your data and the time frame a system must be recovered in. So from this information and with the existing plan in front of you, you can begin to examine where your system fails and where your system excels. This is important because your newly designed system should address both.

Backup Solution: Vendors V. You

Armed with all this information, begin talking to the backup solution vendors. Look at the systems they have to offer and assess them against your needs. Which ones work for you, what parts of these solutions work for you and what parts do not, can you piece together a solution to fit all of your needs adding your own components and then reproduce it via your IT department? Remember other's solutions can inform your final decisions. In the end the actual building and testing of your own design will tell you what you have gained in budget, manpower, time frame, and ability to restore.