Data Backup Best Practices

Any business that values its data will want to protect it. And that means sticking to a number of security principles. These cover how your team should be handling their Microsoft 365, implementing a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, and adhering to various data backup best practices when implementing it. In this blog we’ll outline what these best practices are so you can fully prepare your business for the most testing scenarios.

1. Create a backup strategy  

This involves creating a detailed data backup plan that presents the specific objectives of your company; what needs to be backed up, how quickly and how much data need to be restored to save the business, and what the risks of this data loss would be.

2. Backup data frequently 

Many businesses may only backup their data every few weeks. This is risky business; a lot can change for a business after a week. So, to ensure you can easily start afresh, data backup best practices would suggest once every 24 hours, or at a similarly frequent interval of your choice. 

3. Have onsite + offsite backups  

If your physical location were to become compromised, it’s important your business has another data backup solution on-premise. This can be either a cloud-based solution or a physical server in another location. Equally, an onsite backup is more easily accessible, and seeing as you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket it makes sense to take advantage of both solutions’ benefits. 

4. Test backups regularly 

It’s all very well backing up your data, but if you don’t know it works, then it’s just as risky as not backing up at all. This can be done automatically for both on-site and off-site backups, and with the latest technology, you can be easily alerted if there are any issues with your backup.    

5. Automate your backups Protect your endpoints  

People can’t be trusted 100% to do important things properly. Backups can either be done incorrectly or not at all, so this can help eliminate the margin for human error. There’s also the side benefit of increased productivity; your team is now freer to pursue other tasks. 

6. Protect your endpoints  

In many a small business environment, data is backed up across both a server and on a user’s local computer. This means that the data on the computer is entirely dependent on the security of that computer. Everywhere data is stored, every endpoint needs to be protected with the same level of security.

7. Encrypt your backups  

This adds an additional layer of security. Should your data be stolen or lost, it means that no criminal will be able to make sense of your data and it will be rendered worthless to them. 

Whilst those are the most notable data backup best practices, there are numerous other angles to consider when creating the ideal backup plan for your business. At Calder IT our aim is to cover every single one of them and give you the peace of mind you need to focus on running your business. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your team implement the ideal data backup plan and help you adhere to every best practice possible, click here to book a meeting with one of our experts.