If your organization stores a lot of data in your network, it is important to ensure that all data is secure. One way to maintain data in the network and improve data security is to perform frequent data backups.
However, if your organization does not perform regular data backups, your data can be compromised by a malicious actor or lost when a natural disaster takes place that wipes out the network.
Data backups are crucial for disaster recovery. Natural disasters and cyberattacks are unpredictable, so it is important that your organization is always prepared for the worst just in case.
No organization can afford to have data compromised by malicious actors or lost during some kind of disaster. This can lead to damaged business reputation, extended network downtime, lost customers, and lost revenue.
It can also cost your organization hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to repair the network.
Data backup strategies are important for organizations to avoid the negative impact of these attacks and disasters. It is important to understand best practices for data backup strategies so you understand how best to protect your data.
COEO understands how important data storage and security are and has helped thousands of organizations protect their data with backup strategies and disaster recovery to ensure data is not lost or compromised.
By the end of this article, you will understand what a data backup plan is, the best practices for data backup strategies, and whether they are right for your organization.
What is a data backup plan?
A data backup plan is a strategy designed to ensure that data is regularly backed up and copied. This enables organizations to make copies of the data to ensure it is secure and does not get lost in case of data breaches or cyberattacks.
A data backup plan also ensures that data is backed up and safe during natural disasters or human error.
Data backup plans can be essential to businesses that house and rely on sensitive data in their network, ensuring continuity and the protection of sensitive data.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about data backup strategies or ask any questions you may have, you can schedule an appointment.
The best practices for data backup strategies
Understanding the best practices for data backup strategies will help you secure data. The best practices include:
Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule
The 3-2-1 data backup plan states that organizations should make three copies of their data, two that are stored on different types of media and one stored off-site.
An example of this would be backing up data to a local on-premise storage system, copying the data to another on-premise storage system, and replicating the data to another location.
Increase the frequency of backups
With ransomware attacks becoming much more popular, it has increased the need to back up your data. It is no longer enough for organizations to back up their data once every night; it should be backed up multiple times a day.
Ensuring your organization is performing data backups multiple times each day will give your organization the best chance to secure sensitive data from data breaches and disasters.
Use cloud backup
The most efficient way to back up data is by using the cloud. Cloud backup should be considered if our organization is looking to revamp its data protection and backup strategy.
Cloud backup not only allows your organization to make copies of your data but also allows you to store data in the cloud, making more room for data storage on-premises.
However, when considering cloud backup, it is crucial that you research cloud providers and find one that best meets your organization’s needs. There are numerous cloud providers, each offering distinct solutions and features. Finding the right one that offers a solution that meets the needs of your organization.
Incorporate disaster recovery
Disasters of any kind, whether natural (such as tornadoes and hurricanes) or man-made (such as cyberattacks and data breaches), can bring down your network and leave data vulnerable.
Since disasters can occur at any moment, it is important that your organization incorporates disaster recovery so you can ensure data is secure whenever they occur.
It is important that disaster recovery efforts are documented and executed so your organization understands what to do when a disaster takes place.
Protect network endpoints and applications
Network endpoints are devices such as phones, laptops, and tablets that are used to access the network. Each of these devices can store valuable data.
Data stored on these devices is typically only stored on the device and not in a data center unless they are backed up. Without performing data backups on these devices regularly, data stored on them can be lost or stolen if the device itself is lost, stolen, or broken.
Endpoint protection today is more practical than ever before, and modern endpoint backup systems allow for these devices to back up to the cloud managed by your IT team of experts.
In addition, SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365 applications and Salesforce are typically overlooked when it comes to data security. Organizations typically assume that data stored in these applications is automatically secure. However, this is not the case.
It is important for your IT experts to look for a data protection application that protects these SaaS offerings.
Are these data backup best practices right for your organization?
Now you understand what a data backup plan is and the best practices for data backups. However, it is also important that you understand if these best practices are right for your organization.
While data backup is important for almost all organizations, it is important to follow these best practices if your organization stores a massive amount of sensitive data in the network.
For example, organizations in the healthcare industry need to comply with HIPAA to maintain security over the healthcare records of patients. If your organization must maintain data compliance, following these best practices may be right for your organization.
However, if your organization does not store sensitive data on customers or patients, you may not need to follow all of these best practices, but you should perform some kind of data backup periodically to ensure data is not lost or stolen.
Incorporating best practices for data backup into your organization
Now you understand what a data backup plan is, the best practices for data backup, and whether these best practices are right for your organization. This will give you a better idea of whether your organization should incorporate these data backup best practices into your organization.
No organization can afford to lose sensitive data following a natural disaster or damage to their network, or have data compromised following a cyberattack or data breach. This can lead to damaged network reputation, lost customers, and lost revenue.
These consequences can be detrimental to an organization, so it is important to stay prepared to protect data for when disasters occur.
Staying prepared with data backups is important, so understanding the best practices for backups will give your organization the best chance to secure data at all times.
COEO understands the importance of data security and has helped thousands of organizations with data backups and disaster recovery efforts to ensure their data does not get lost or compromised if a disaster takes place.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about data backup strategies or ask any questions you may have, you can schedule an appointment.
Now you know the best practices for data backups. If you would like to learn more about data backup plans, read the article below to learn how to create a reliable and cost-effective backup plan:
