Data loss can have serious consequences for any business. It is one of the most common causes of business disruption or failure. To control the effects of data loss means that a business must have a robust data backup and recovery plan in place. What then is data backup and data recovery? This article discusses the issues and why a business needs to be strategic in that regard. Backup itself refers to the process of creating a duplicate copy of data or files that can be used to restore the original in the event of loss or corruption.
Based on this understanding, data backup technically involves transferring and storing data from a primary source to a secondary source which can be on-premises or offsite to assure its availability and accessibility when the need arises. The process includes backing up a database, a video and other media in an electronic form. In essence, data backup provides a working copy of data in an event the original copy is damaged or corrupted. Data corruption or damage can occur through a virus, cyber-attack, a user error, power failures or spikes, system crashes, theft or a disaster.
That aside, data recovery on other hand, is the process of retrieving lost or damaged data from a backup source. It involves the setting up of a secure system that allows for a retrieval of data after any of those incidents. Disaster recovery usually employs several methods including RAID, SSD (Solid State Devices), hard drive, removable, optical, digital and tape. RAID is a redundant array of independent disks of a storage architecture or infrastructure. It uses a combination of automated and manual data recovery processes to extract and restore data from one or more drives and storage components.
It is worth noting that data backup as well as data recovery aims at ensuring business continuity. Business continuity requires an organization to have a deliberate plan which establishes processes and identifies resources to respond to and recover from those incidents with a minimal disruption. In this regard, a good plan must prioritize an organization’s most critical data, choose the right backup method, establish safe and secure location. There must also be an arrangement for testing and updating a backup regularly to ensure it works properly and meets an organization’s needs. Frequency of backups may not be the same for all data but for the testing regime, an organization’s size and assets must be considered.
In the scheme of a plan, it is imperative to institute a recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) to benchmark data recovery and downtime. While recovery time objective (RTO) considers the maximum amount of time it takes to recover files, recovery point objective (RPO) looks at the maximum file age (frequency) that an organization must recover from its backup storage to resume normal operations. In effect, a provision for a recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) enables an organization to choose the optimal disaster recovery procedures, strategies and technologies (software and hardware, networking equipment and connectivity.)
Backup Methods
When automating a backup, an organization has an option to choose the method which is applicable or suits it requirements. Nonetheless, it is better to use a combination of the standard types of data backup. These are a full, an incremental, a differential and a mirror backup. A full backup is the most comprehensive and provides a full copy of selected data sources including files, folders, applications and hard drives. But it is also the slowest in terms of the backup time because it requires lots of storage. Incremental backups are quick and need little storage space. These types of backups are suitable for restoring a complete copy of a database or a server without rebuilding the whole dataset.
In the case of a mirror backup, it is a normal copy of selected folders and files at a given instant in time. It is considered the fastest backup method because it copies files and folders to the destination without any group compression. It requires a large storage space and it cannot be password protected. While other backup types will usually collect all the files and folders being backed each time into a single compressed container file, a mirror backup keeps all the individual files separate in the destination which becomes a “mirror” of the source. A mirror backup cannot keep track of different versions of files.
Furthermore, recovery-in-place is another effective method of restoring data quickly. It involves using a technology to move backup data files to a live state on a backup appliance, thereby eliminating the need to move the data across a network. This protects against server and storage system failure.
Golden Rule of Data Backup
The original rule is the 3-2-1 backup strategy. The rule basically requires an organization to make three (3) copies of the data to be protected; store copies on two (2) different types of storage media and send one (1) copy of the data offsite. Considering the need to protect data against ransomware and the emergence of cloud backup, the modern data protection requirement is the 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule. The 3-2-1-1-0 backup rule calls for five conditions to be met:
- Keep at least (3) copies of your data including the production copy.
- Use at least (2) different storage media, for instance, a hard drive and a cloud storage.
- Keep at least (1) of the copies off-site in case your machines are physically damaged.
- Keep at least (1) copy offline preferably the clouds to be immutable (so that this copy cannot be modified in any way, under any circumstances).
- Your backups should have completed with (0) errors.
Using Remote Storage
Offsite servers or remote backups are suitable for data recovery since they provide enormous amounts of data storage. Indeed, it is ideal to have offsite backups on a separate system. Data backup can be in the cloud or on a dedicated physical server. Cloud storage can be used as a primary backup or as a secondary backup. For instance, store files, photos or any other type of data can be transmitted over a secure network to a cloud-based server. It bears to note that the amount of data and rate of change are two critical factors that determine when to use cloud backups. Meanwhile, the Global Cloud Backup and Recovery Market is projected to grow from $10.93 billion in 2021 to $34.75 billion by 2030 at a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 24.2%.
Cloud storage has some advantages over other data backup methods. Indeed, it is safe and secure and enables data to be stored on servers protected from physical threats and encrypted while in transit. Cloud storage also allows for scalability to accommodate any increasing capacity of an organization’s data backup needs. We should not lose sight of the ease and convenience cloud storage also offers. It can be used to back up data from any location without the need for any special equipment or software. In the same vein, cloud backup can be accessed by using any computer or a mobile device with a reliable internet connection. Organizations can use the cloud to store the most recent copies of data. They can, however, deploy cloud computing services for tasks such as disaster recovery, reporting and testing and development.
Conclusion
It is worth reiterating that data loss can significantly impact business operations and lead to downtime, revenue losses and reputational damage to an organization. By having a reliable backup and recovery plan in place, organizations can ensure business continuity that transcends unforeseen events. A well-thought-out backup and recovery plan keeps critical data safe and it can be restored in case of a disaster. This reduces stress and allows organizations to focus on their core business operations.
BERNARD BEMPONG
Bernard is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of professional and industry experience in Financial Services Sector and Management Consultancy. He is the Managing Partner of J.S Morlu (Ghana) an international consulting firm providing Accounting, Tax, Auditing, IT Solutions and Business Advisory Services to both private businesses and government.
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