Backups Mean It’s Easy to Bounce Back!
You know that jolt of horrified surprise you get when you don’t see your car where you parked it?
You might look around desperately, hoping that you’ve made a mistake, that you parked in the next lot over. You likely feel like your stomach is in your toes, as if someone has yanked the rug out from under you. Maybe you realize your phone and wallet were in your car, too—and a new wave of panic might slosh over you. Yikes.
That’s just the surface of what it can feel like if your company has just experienced a cyber attack. You might be reeling from the repercussions, trying to adapt quickly, and working round-the clock, all while trying to stabilize the nauseating feelings of worry.
But if you plan ahead and have the right combination of data and systems backed up, you can resume operations as quickly as possible.
Think of it this way: if you had a GPS tracker on your car, a spare wallet with all your identity documents at a friend’s house, and a backup phone squirreled away in your desk drawer, things would definitely be easier for you in the immediate aftermath of having a car stolen.
Here’s what you should consider when planning for the proverbial car theft:
When developing a plan, you’ll want to identify what aspects of your business need to recover first and how fast they need to do so. For example, could your charts wait while you make sure patient intake is back up and running? As you identify your priorities and evaluate your recovery goals, consider these three aspects:
- Cost of downtime (What is the monetary impact being down, per hour? Per day? Per department?)
- Ability to support customers while your business, or parts of your business, aren’t available (How will you keep your clients informed? Can they get in touch with you with questions?)
- Loss of revenue (How much revenue would you lose if you were unable to function for a day? For a week? Could your employees work, and could they be paid?)
These questions can seem intimidating—but trust us, it’s better to consider them now and face the music when you get to choose the playlist. In a perfect world, your defensive strategies will prevent a cyber attack that takes you completely out of commission… but it’s smarter to function with some healthy cynicism when it comes to cybersecurity.
You should also consider what type of backups you need and which you have already.
And long story short: one backup is not enough.
You can think of it like a house key—it’s always better to have more than one copy, so that your neighbor, close friend, parent, or partner can have one handy in case of an emergency.
When it comes to backup and recovery strategy, Stratti recommends three layers of data redundancy.
You don’t know where an attack will come from or which parts of your network will be targeted. So, take a layered approach. Stratti recommends developing a combination of both on-premise and cloud backups:
- Redundant drives on your server (these are extremely convenient to have if only one drive is impacted by a mistake or attack)
- On-premises backup solution like Datto (so if your network is attacked, you have a physical backup separate and yet-untouched)
- A remote or cloud backup solution (so in the case of a physical or natural impact like flooding, you’re still protected)
Each redundant option has a function and exists in case of specific circumstances. But more specific research and planning could be useful for your company, so you know how to budget well, and take care of all your organization’s specific data needs.
You can talk to a Stratti expert about backup options any time — with over 25 years of experience in the field, we’ve seen it all, and can recommend the best options for your enterprise.
When it comes to cloud storage, you want a system you can access from anywhere, and will enable your servers to keep running. Datto is an excellent cloud backup solution for many companies’ performance needs, you can work with an expert to design the best plan for your requirements.
On-premise storage will also be unique to your physical space and office capabilities, so you can speak to a Stratti professional to get the perfect recommendation—something like Datto can often be an easy backup solution as they have an appliance that can act as a backup server in case yours fails.
You deserve solutions tailored to your needs, that don’t get in your way on a daily basis, and that will help your business with a short recovery time if the worst does occur.
Don’t get caught out in the rain! Plan for a (dry) safe future now
