Which backup solution is right for you?
2015 is a record year for equipment: Business spending on Cloud infrastructure (backup, storage, application hosting) will increase by 33% by the end of the year, according to Gartner. This is a major trend, due in particular to the growing importance and volume of corporate digital data. User mobility is also a major factor in this trend. According to an Oodrive study, 80% of unprotected companies go bankrupt after an IT disaster (fire, flood, breakage, theft, virus). In response to this problem, many specialists offer a complete range of solutions for VSEs, SMEs and large groups. There are several options to choose from, depending on your needs. Find out more about our back-up software comparisons.
File backup
The first level of backup concerns your files. By files, we mean all the documents you produce and use on a daily basis (word processing, spreadsheets, emails, PDFs), your media (photos and videos), as well as your databases (SQL or ODB, for example). In the event of disaster or damage to your files, a backup solution will enable you to recover them in their latest operational version:
You can back up all your files on a daily basis, either on your company's premises, at a location remote from your offices, or in the Cloud. In the last two cases, this will be via an Internet connection. Make sure that the solutions on offer use the minimum amount of bandwidth, thanks to incremental backup, scheduling and Delta-Bloc backup technologies. Your Internet connection should be reserved for business use, at least during working hours.
Example: A very small or medium-sized business generating a lot of documents should target solutions offering: data hosting in France to avoid the American Patriot Act, Delta-Bloc or incremental backup as a minimum, possible backup of open files, backup reports. We recommend the following solutions: Adbackup, RG Backup, Oxibox, SpiderOack (data hosting in the USA), Microsoft Azure Backup.
This option allows you to save the minimum: your furniture! It does not, however, allow you to recover lost software in the event of theft or destruction of your computer.
Backup all fixed and mobile devices
The question of backing up all your content (files, software and operating systems) arises if you want to eliminate recovery time. Indeed, reinstalling all software on your employees' workstations and importing files can be a long and tedious process. On the one hand, you mobilize a full-time technical staff member for this restoration, and on the other, the loss of data for the victim is an indefinable amount of lost work time...
You'll need to pay particular attention to the compatibility of backup software with your operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android). The idea behind a complete system backup is to be able to restore the company's entire digital heritage on the same or new machines. You need to be able to do this under the right conditions. You also need to ensure that you have a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) in place, the aim of which is to guarantee that your business can be resumed as quickly and easily as possible, without any loss of data.
Example: A small or medium-sized business providing its employees with several fixed and mobile terminals will need to pay particular attention to the following functions: Disaster recovery plan, compatibility with different operating systems, "Bare Metal" restoration (complete system recovery), data hosting in France. We recommend Adbackup, RG Backup, Oxibox, Microsoft Azure Backup, Backupia.
Backing up an enterprise server
Backing up an enterprise server is relatively similar to backing up a computer. We separate it from the rest because the criticality and volume of information on a server are far greater than that of a single employee. Given the intense activity on a corporate server, it is essential to be able to manage several dozen backup versions in order to retrieve precise information. Recovery time must also be kept to a minimum, so as not to impact employees. Bare Metal Recovery technology enables you to recover a perfect copy of your data in the shortest possible time. Special attention should also be paid to insurance coverage for data loss. If your data is lost, it will have a profound impact on your business. That's why it's important that your service provider offers you insurance cover in excess of 1 million euros.
Article translated from French