Enterprise Data Backup
– Chris Grossman, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Applications division with Rand Worldwide, says:
Enterprise data backup is one of those IT solutions that is nearly ubiquitous, but many organizations aren’t happy with the solutions that they have in place. A recent survey found that although 98% of respondents had a backup solution in place, only 25% were extremely satisfied with it. Do any of these common sources of dissatisfaction sound familiar?
- The backup solution doesn’t handle the diverse data types used by the organization. Regardless of industry, businesses today generate many different types of data. For example, some information is structured while other is unstructured. Data is stored in many different types of databases, ranging from legacy to newer platforms. In addition, data is generated from diverse operating systems, mobile devices, virtual machines, and more. An organization’s backup solution must be able to fully handle the complexity of its information landscape, or else business continuity is at risk.
- It’s not possible to recover data, even though it’s been backed up. Some backup solutions place data in a backup repository and that’s it. All too often, once information has been backed up, no one pays any attention to it. Unfortunately, that’s the Achilles heel of disaster recovery plans. If information is corrupted in a backup data repository but no one knows, the likelihood is small that data will be recoverable in the event of an emergency. Ideally, a backup solution will constantly scan backed up information, automatically repair problems, and notify IT if a corrupted file is encountered.
- Backed up data isn’t secure. Security is a top concern for most organizations today. It’s important to recognize that backup solutions are a key part of the larger IT ecosystem and as such, can represent a security risk. For example, backup solutions that require agents to be installed on every device are a red flag. Typically, this type of architecture requires multiple ports to be opened in firewalls, which increases exposure to attacks from malicious software. A better alternative is a backup tool based on agentless technology. Another security concern is the backed up data itself. Ideally, backed up data should be stored in encrypted form and should be accessible only to people with the encryption keys.
If you’re in the 75% of organizations that aren’t extremely satisfied with your backup solution, you may want to consider a different alternative. There are solutions available that address all the sources of concern outlined above.
About the Author
As a Senior Vice President, Chris Grossman manages the Enterprise Applications division of Rand Worldwide, including the Rand Secure Data division. Contact Chris at cgrossman@rand.com or visit www.randsecuredata.com.
