The initial investment into backup solutions, which the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) market sees as expensive, is the biggest factor discouraging SMEs from implementing robust solutions.
So says Anamika Budree, sales manager for branded products at WD South Africa, who notes that, within any business environment, it is critical to back up data on a regular basis.
She adds that many companies, especially small office and home offices (SOHOs) and SMEs have left data backup as an afterthought and see this as akin to 'insurance' - something that may never be needed.
"However, when you have lost all your company information and important documents, only then does a backup seem like a good idea. Furthermore, accidents happen. Imagine the consequences of spilling your morning hot coffee on your keyboard. Many of us lose all our data due to these scenarios, and without a backup, this data is lost forever," Budree says.
According to a study by research company Contingency Planning, 70% of small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business within a year. A McKinsey study also lists safe and secure data as the number one attribute in a list of vital business criteria.
A recent EMC survey discovered that 74% of South African companies are not confident they could fully recover systems or data in the event of a disaster.
"It is clear then that data protection is a critical part of ensuring business continuity, smooth operations and overall business profitability," says Budree.
Thus, she urges that, although the initial investment into a backup system may be taxing on an SME's budget, the costs thereafter are low if the correct backup solution is purchased and used properly.
"An SME will, in fact, save a lot of money in the event of critical data loss, as a secondary copy of data can immediately be accessed; the charges associated with data recovery can frequently run into thousands of dollars, depending on how much data is lost and needs to be recovered."
She also urges SMEs to pick the right backup solution for their business, saying smaller businesses have similar data backup and recovery requirements to large-scale organisations, and any interruption in service can be cataclysmic to the business.
"It is crucial for SMEs to protect both system and data assets. As a result, it is necessary to understand the best approach for your business. While tape-based backup is even today considered a viable backup solution, a hard-drive-based system offers better reliability and drastically lowers the time needed to perform backup and recovery operations."
Before choosing a solution, she points out that SMEs should determine their backup needs, adding that existing backup logs must be reviewed to determine whether changes need to be made.
"Backup schedules should be reviewed as well. Although disk-based backups perform this function in near real time, there are other considerations. For example, regulatory compliance may require the creation and retention of quarterly archives that must be kept separate from regular backups, which the backup schedule will reveal."
Another consideration for SMEs is cloud services, Budree says. She believes cloud storage services, if used correctly, can be an important part of a complete storage management strategy, particularly with regards to secondary storage.
She explains that secondary storage keeps a replica of primary data rather than a simple backup, providing additional security and redundancy. However, she notes, it is important to remember that data is subject to compliance and regulations, including the Protection of Personal Information Act.
"You need to know how your data will be secured by the cloud provider, and ensure that this is up to regulatory standards. The cloud system should also provide remote access to data, enabling you to access it when you need it most, from wherever you may be."
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