Marc, our summer intern, just deleted that super important presentation file that he spent a week putting together for the super important person, Dan, for a super important client meeting. What now!?

Backups can help mitigate an issue like this. However, just setting up backups without a plan doesn’t necessarily ensure the files will be there when you need them. You should create a Backup Strategy to ensure you are fully protected. Here are some things to consider when creating your Backup Strategy:

• Define where critical files are located. Not only on which servers/computers, but also in what drives and folders.
• Define where you save your backups. A local storage device can increase the speed of backing up and/or restoring data. A cloud location can help in the event the physical location is unavailable.
• Define how often to run a backup. When determining how often to run backups, you’ll need to consider the performance impact, whether you want to be able to recover a file that was created and deleted during the day, and how much storage is required to save all the backups.

Having a backup strategy in place is only half the battle. Performing periodic test file restores can assure you that the files can be restored when needed. In addition, performing a full system restore, at least annually, can identify the amount of time it will take and the impact to your operation in the event there is a disaster. Evaluating the backup strategy from time to time helps ensure that any new files are included in future backups, and that the strategy meets your current business needs.

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