Is Online Server Backup Appropriate for Your Business?

September 25, 2009

Backing Up Your Servers: Why It’s Essential
Businesses of all sizes depend on their computer data for their very existence. Whether it’s a largeenterprise with transactional data or a 15-person law office with valuable client records, business datarepresents a valuable and irreplaceable business asset. The business risk of losing this data - or even losingaccess to this data - is well documented and well recognized. A survey of over 200 small and mediumsizedbusinesses (SMBs) by Imation indicates that 90 percent have some formal backup and restorestrategy. The question is: which strategy is best for your company?

In addition, continuously expanding regulatory requirements are forcing businesses to re-examine theircurrent storage and recovery strategies. Businesses must justify their backup strategies as compliant withmandates for privacy, security, and accessibility.

Therefore, understanding your need for server backup is only the first step in the process. The next step isdetermining the right data protection strategy for your business.

Problems with Traditional Backup
Even though companies may recognize the value and necessity of backup, their choice of backup solutionmay not be appropriate for their needs. Part of the challenge relates to size: small and medium-sizedbusinesses may lack the resources to dedicate to implementing and maintaining backup solutions. Evenlarge enterprises with IT departments face challenges in adequately managing remote locations.

Traditional Backup or Online Backup?
The decision between traditional backup and online backup depends on your business requirements,including your company’s goals for restore time objectives (RTOs) and restore point objectives (RTOs),desired backup window, the amount and change rate of the data, and the specific compliance and securityrequirements for your industry.

Traditional backup - today’s usual approach to protecting vital business data - does have limitations that …

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