London, UK, April 2, 2007 - Acronis Inc. (www.acronis.com/en-us/), a technological leader in
advanced storage management and disaster recovery software, warns
that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are placing too much
importance on their data backup plans and too little on data
retrieval and recovery strategies. As a result of this imbalance,
SMBs face otherwise avoidable periods of downtime in the event of
an IT failure or other disaster.
To help SMBs across all industries address this
potential shortcoming, Acronis is offering a six-point guide to
speed up the data recovery process and prevent damage to profits
and reputation:
- Make sure your data recovery strategy allows you to restore data, applications and operating systems to different types of hardware or to virtual systems. Having the capability to restore to multiple environments not just a company's current one can be a huge time saver.
- Plan for the recovery of systems first by prioritizing resources and creating backup schedules to match the maximum allowable downtime for any given server. Remember, disasters vary based on the application; a Web server that takes online orders needs to be up and running more quickly than a Web server that simply displays static pages.
- Back up to disk, not tape, for faster restore times. Take advantage of high-capacity and high-performance disk drives that are decreasing in price and increasing in resiliency. Disks are inherently more reliable, require less maintenance than tape, and can be used for online, near-line and archival storage more efficiently than tape.
- Empower mobile employees to recover data themselves more quickly than relying on the IT department. Use tools such as hidden partitions on laptops to save images of the systems. That way, should a user be traveling when an emergency occurs or a virus hits, the remote user will be able to restore the data and programs on the laptops themselves.
- Consider going virtual: recovering data from hundreds of servers can be a management nightmare; using virtualisation to consolidate the number of servers you need to run your business dramatically reduces the recovery workload in the event of a failure. Ancillary cost savings using virtual technology also are possible, based on your computing requirements.
- Test test test. Creating a backup strategy is only the first step; make sure you test your plan to make sure it meets your needs from a technological and from a staffing perspective. Make sure backups are accessible for mission-critical systems and that you can restore your backup on any system, regardless of the platform. Then test your plan to make everyone knows exactly what to do when an outage strikes.
"SMBs face a real challenge in developing
disaster recovery strategies," said Kevin Moreau, head of Acronis'
UK operations. "Many of them are only doing half the job and
backing up their data without developing a fast, effective way of
recovering it. In fact, many have never tested their disaster
recovery plan to determine if they can get their systems back up
and running quickly. This is like a thirsty man who throws a bucket
down a well without fastening a rope because he's too desperate for
a drink to be bothered to tie a knot; you may get to the water
faster, but you'll never be able pull back your vital
resource."
About Acronis:
Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. For more information, visit www.acronis.com.