We are used to hearing “redundant” used as a non-complimentary term, so it can be off-putting to hear how you want to make sure that your backups are redundant in case of a disaster. With March 31st being World Backup Day we want to talk about how important redundancy is important, especially in the midst of a considerable disaster event like the one we are doing today.
It makes sense that any kind of redundancy would be frowned upon, given that business operations today have become so focused on efficiency. The difference is that the redundancy that we are discussing here has an intended purpose.
Let’s examine this intentional redundancy in action with the 3-2-1 Rule of data backup.
The 3-2-1 Rule
This “rule” is pretty generally accepted amongst IT professionals. It sums up to the following:
- Three copies of your data should exist
- Two of these copies are backups
- One of these backup copies should be located offsite
But why two backup copies? Wouldn’t one of them be mostly redundant?
It would, and that’s the point. Consider the possibility that your on-site backup could be lost in the same disaster that destroys your original copy. Your backup isn’t going to be of any help then. What if you found out that your offsite data center suffered a disaster, and so your backup is gone, just as a minor data issue takes place in-house?
Your second backup is just that, a backup to your backup. Plan C, when Plan B doesn’t work out.
A Timely Message
It isn’t hard to see why this kind of reliability is valuable to a business, considering what has been happening in the past few weeks with the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses everywhere are either closing up shop or shifting to remote operations for the time being, and as this has been going on, business locations are being targeted. Theft and even vandalism can be very real causes of data loss, which means that properly backing up your data is a must.
This situation also highlights one of the reasons that we really push the cloud as the best option for your backups. Not only is your data protected in the cloud, it is also accessible to your team, allowing them to work from home if need be until it is safe to return to normal working conditions.
Of course, nobody should hope to have this happen, but not being prepared for it is just foolish. Again, we recommend the 3-2-1 Rule, as it practically guarantees that you aren’t without your data.
If you need help setting up your backup solution, we can help with that, too. Call WheelHouse IT today to learn more about how working with us can ensure that your IT is reliably available to you when you need it. Reach out at (877) 771-2384.
