When evaluating data backup and recovery processes, there are several things to consider.

First, and maybe most importantly, recognize this will be the most mission critical activity undertaken when the company’s data needs to be restored. There is often an inclination to assign data backup to the most junior IT staff member because IT staffs are overloaded. This decision could be detrimental when the time arises to get the data back in production and the company back online. Data backup and recovery must be put in the hands of professionals that understand this complex discipline.

There should also be an understanding that data recovery does not only occur in the case of a natural disaster. Data backup and recovery strategies must also meet company policies regarding regulatory requirements, data breaches, ability to respond to court orders, and more. This requires coordinated strategies and testing. Data Backup strategies must be planned and tested to assure all company requirements regarding data retention and recovery are met.

The design of the Data Backup process has multiple dimensions. These multiple dimensions must all be considered when designing the process, handling of exceptions and the physical network to support the backup and restore process. One dimension cannot be discussed without overlaying the other dimensions to develop a complete solution. The analysis must consider the function of the data, the medium the data is on, the physical location of the data in relation to the location of its backup site, to name just a few.

Recovery time requirements are important. The business requirement may require a certain restore time. In other words, if it takes so long to restore the entire environment that the company is no longer able to remain in business, then what’s the point? A regulatory body requirement is not met, then financially damaging fees may be assessed to the company.

A major part of the backup and recovery process is the physical network. To name just a few of the factors that impact the infrastructure design would be the frequency of the backups, the required time for the restore to be completed for effectiveness, the medium the data resides, the proximity of the backup location to the original site, etc. Networks may be under-powered to meet data backup and recovery requirements.

Another dimension of the Data Backup process is the medium the data resides. All considerations must be applied to each type of data that exists in the computer environment. This is true for the backup and the restore processes of the data.

Outsourcing data backup processes is an approach that should be considered. Outsourcing to an American managed service provider is often the preferred choice; especially if the data can remain within the control of the company and only the backup and recovery procedures are performed remotely by the data backup and recovery MSP.

Data backup and recovery is a discipline mastered by those that specialize in it. Data backup/recovery is a mission-critical process that requires the same attention as the most important ERP or CRM application.

For more information on enterprise data backup and recovery, contact Salvus Data Consultants. Salvus uses Tivoli Storage Management (TSM) remotely to manage your Data B/R plan for you while you maintain control of the data.