Exploring Backup and Recovery Solutions for Small Businesses

The digital world is undergoing a continuous transformation and so is the world of business. While business data is a pivotal element of the survival of any business, its security continues to be a concern for all. We at MCG Computer believe that your data security shouldn’t be just a technical concern. It should rather be a mission for everyone involved, no matter you run a start-up in Perth or a bustling boutique in Melbourne or a cool small cafe in Sydney. Robust data backup and recovery must be a priority for everyone in a small business. It’s critical but doesn’t always have to break the bank provided you stick to some effective, practical solutions.

Developing a Complete Backup Strategy

Data is the backbone of your business and thus the data backup and recovery cannot be just an IT concern. It’s in fact the insurance that serves to protect everything that you’re building in your business. Amid rising data threats, having dependable backup and recovery solutions for data is a must as it’s the only thing that would safeguard the future of your business.

What does a complete strategy require? Well, much beyond tools. First things first. Make sure your staff has developed the understanding of the significance of data handling and backup. They have a crucial role to play in maintaining proper data handling practices. Many companies prefer employee training to make their employees understand their vital role in the process of data backup.

With growing business and data, the needs related to backup and recovery will also change. It’s thus necessary to conduct a regular, annual strategy review for the same. Keep your strategy ready in case of data loss. If you’re associated with some external providers, make sure you have clarity on service level agreements and are aware of their disaster recovery capabilities.

Small Businesses Demand Affordable Backup and Recovery Solutions

Small businesses in Australia are often on tight budgets and cost-effective operation is always a priority. The first parameter they consider while choosing their data backup and recovery solutions provider is thus the cost. We believe that the best data backup and recovery solution doesn’t necessarily have to be the most expensive one. What matters is its alignment with your data needs, associated risks, and business goals. The good news is that there are options available on the market that offer enterprise-level protection – but without the enterprise-level prices. Here are some of the most widely chosen options-

1. Cloud-based backup services

Based on your storage needs, there are services like Google Workspace, Dropbox Business, and a few others that provide you with automatic cloud backups. Their subscription models are reasonably priced. If you operate at multiple locations, this is an ideal backup solution for you.

2. Network Attached Storage (NAS) solutions

This comes as a middle-ground backup option that offers access to the centralised storage for all staff. The costs for setup are reasonable. Automated backup capabilities further add value to it.

3. External hard drives

A rotation of external hard drives offers the simplest solution to smaller businesses. This is a cost-effective solution and works perfectly for businesses with limited data volume.

The Indispensable Role of Automation in Modern Backup Solutions

While manual backups are perceived as an economical option, it’s often overlooked that they also bring in significant risks through a lot of inconsistency and human error. That’s where automation steps in. Modern data backup and recovery solutions harness the power of automation to wash off all these vulnerabilities.

Of late, Australian small businesses are increasingly realising the benefits of adopting an automated approach. Automation fundamentally saves both time and risks, which clearly outweighs the total implementation costs. It lets you protect data, as well as keeps your employees focused on their core tasks. Here’s what it’s all about-

• Regularly scheduled backups
• Time- and storage-saving incremental backups
• Versioning for efficient recovery
• Real-time syncing of critical data

Assessing the Effectiveness of Your Current Recovery Strategy

Small businesses across different locations in Australia have unique challenges to tackle, spanning from tropical cyclones to bushfire risks. A perfect data recovery strategy has all such factors in consideration, which ensures compliance with the relevant Australian privacy legislation. Even if you have your data backup and recovery system in place, you also need to make sure it works perfectly in variable conditions. Here’s how the assessment tells you if your current backup strategy is effective enough-

1. What’s the recovery time objective (RTO)?
2. How fast the operations are restored post-incident?
3. Measure the actual recovery time and simulate failures
4. What’s the recovery point objective (RPO)?
5. How much data is potentially at stake?
6. How frequently you schedule recovery tests to ensure your backups are usable?
7. Have you clearly documented your recovery process?
8. Have you considered storing backups at multiple geographical locations for protection against natural disasters?