Counting Your 3-2-1 Data Backup Options

Your company’s critical data can be lost in so many ways it is imperative that your files, records, business transactions, technical data and personnel information is backed up properly. Hard drive failures, power surges, computer viruses, theft, and natural disasters can all lead to catastrophic data loss if you are not prioritizing data backup. 

The 3-2-1 Data Backup Rule

Backing up your data properly is not a one step process. A common backup strategy known as the 3-2-1 Backup Rule keeps your data safe in almost any failure scenario.

The rule is to keep at least three copies of your data, store two backup copies on different storage media, with one of them located offsite. Data sent to cloud storage is housed in remote servers that are also backed up by the cloud storage firm.

Multiple copies stipulated by the 3-2-1 backup rule protect you from losing your primary data together with its only backup copy. Storing copies of data in multiple locations ensures that there is no single point of failure and that your data is safe, should something happen to any of your locations.

What are the Odds of Data Loss? (Higher than You Might Think)

The odds may be low that your business will be hit by a natural disaster like a tornado, earthquake or flood, or even a terroristic attack.

You may have also taken the necessary steps to protect your facility against theft, voltage surges, and water or fire damage.  But even after taking these precautions, there are still common hazards that can lead to unrecoverable data loss.  These threats, which are largely outside of your control, include device failure, viruses, malicious attacks, volume and directory glitches, transfer corruption, and human error.

Creating the Right Backup Strategy

At Abstract Technology Group, we’ll put together a backup strategy that ensures your data is safe.  We utilize RAID (redundant array of independent disks) arrays, fireproof and waterproof external hard drives, and remote cloud storage to provide secure backups and ease of access if your data needs to be retrieved.

When assessing your needs, our plan will cover all aspects of data protection, including critical data areas, backup types, storage media, scheduling, disaster recovery, automation, encryption and regular live testing under different scenarios. 

To discuss your options, please contact the Abstract team and we’ll be happy to help you sleep better at night.