Enterprise Maintenance of Backup and Recovery

Backups for data storage seem to be a simple enough way to protect valuable business data from accidental erasure, application crashes, server mishaps, ransomware, and the countless other ways in which data becomes irretrievable. IT managers will soon find that implementing a comprehensive data security plan requires much more than pointing a backup solution to a storage target.

It often requires a thorough examination of available tools, comprehensive preparation, and a strategy for data recovery that ensures all that hard work pays off.

Options for Backup of Business Data

Companies face important choices about whether complete, incremental, differential, or synthetic full backups should be performed. Settling on one—or a mix of the four—depends on organizational requirements.

• Total Backups: Offers the ultimate data protection by saving all files and folders on a device. Everything is saved as a set, making it easy to track backups. Downsides include high space and bandwidth usage and longer backup times.
• Incremental Backups: Include only files added or modified since the last full or incremental backup. They create shorter backup periods and require less storage, but recovery takes longer because the full backup plus all subsequent incrementals are needed.
• Differential Backups: Include files changed since the last full backup. Recovery requires only the last differential plus the full backup, saving storage compared to multiple incremental backups.
• Synthetic Backups: Used when backup times must be short. They combine data from a full backup and incremental backups to create another complete backup, blending completeness with lower resource impact.

Backup and Restore Implementation Plan

Now is the time to create a management plan for organizational backup and recovery. Like any new IT project, success requires a clear understanding of existing IT infrastructure.

• Needs more than a simple inventory: A good plan should account for system roles and importance, enabling IT to coordinate assets and budgets. Consult managers and business units outside IT.
• Understand data volumes: Knowing the volume of data affects investment in backup solutions and storage. Different systems may require different backup frequencies; critical databases need more frequent backups than rarely used file repositories.
• Consider data retention periods: Storage costs money, and businesses should only retain data as long as it has value. Archival tapes and offsite storage help manage costs.
• Compliance is central: Regulated industries must adhere to legal retention periods in addition to internal policies. Consult compliance officers where necessary.
• Consider cloud backup and recovery: Businesses increasingly use cloud providers to reduce expensive on-site backup storage investments and disaster recovery site costs.

Data Security Concerns

Backups and protection go hand-in-hand. Backups are vital for recovery from ransomware or cyberattacks, but they themselves must be safeguarded. Full backups contain sensitive server data and can be tempting targets for hackers or malicious insiders. Encrypting backups is a key protective measure.

Backup and Encryption

Many vendors offer encryption solutions as part of backup services. End-to-end encryption ensures data remains secure from source to storage destination and at rest.

Considering Goals and Objectives: Selecting encryption depends on organizational priorities. AES 256-bit provides stronger security with a longer key, while AES 128-bit offers faster processing with slightly reduced security.

Key Management: Encrypted backups require careful key management. Deleting or mismanaging keys can prevent data recovery. Key management tools help administrators create and maintain tight control over backup encryption keys.

To get a tailored backup strategy for your organization or additional insights, feel free to drop a query below.