by Scott Kubinski

Last month when we looked at Network Security I mentioned that one way you can protect yourself is by performing a daily backup to both a local device and an external location.  This month I want to expand on why we do backups and what constitutes a proper backup routine for a small or medium sized business.

Have you ever lost an hour of work on your computer?  Maybe you accidently deleted a file?  Now imagine you lost days of work.   Imagine losing your accounts receivable records.   What if every file your company ever produced simply vanished?

THAT is why we do backups.  Bad things can and do occur.  Hardware fails, buildings burn, and viruses attack.  In California, the ground even shakes!  When the worst happens and your data is gone, it is GONE; unless you have a good backup procedure.

First, although it seems counter intuitive, as much of your critical data as possible should reside in one place on your network. This includes mission critical application data, crucial customer database files, and local PC “mydocs” files, to name a few. It is far easier to backup one machine than several.Your backup plan should include multiple backups or “versions.”  The saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” There are several valid reasons:

• A single backup can fail.
• Data loss is often noticed days after it occurred.  If your only backup is from last night, the data is gone.
• Restoring files that were intentionally deleted months ago, when you thought you would NEVER need them again, can be beneficial.

Next, your plan must incorporate Off-Site backups; if your office burns down, you don’t want your backups to burn with it. With the advent of internet backup services this can be done automatically.

Taking a few minutes to form a good backup plan today will give peace of mind tonight; it will also protect you tomorrow when a data loss event occurs.

Mr. Scott Kubinski has been an I.T. Consultant for over 25 years and has been with New Horizon I.T. Consulting, Inc. for the last three years.  Scott can be reached for comment or questions at his office (951) 602-7699 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .