Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Database
    • IT Management
    • Networking
    • Storage
    • Virtualization

    How to Plan for Disaster Recovery

    By
    Dave Sobel
    -
    April 22, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      /images/stories/70×50/bug_knowledgecenter_70x70_(2).jpg

      Every small and home-based business owner should resolve to implement a workable disaster recovery plan to divert looming IT failure and potentially permanent data loss. With some simple advance planning, it’s possible to avoid mistakes that can lead to data collapse, which could stop your business in its tracks.

      How can your company prepare its IT infrastructure? Since disaster recovery and data protection strategies are an absolute necessity, a little forethought and planning can go a long way. Any inability to access e-mail, corporate file shares or needed applications results in lost productivity-which ultimately affects the bottom line. Every company that has experienced an IT disaster knows that a simple disaster recovery plan is worth its weight in gold.

      Plan IT

      Having no plan is not a good plan! Many businesses that experience data loss are unprepared for the aftermath. Hardware or a system failure can happen at any time, and data can be lost as a result.

      Unless a back up system is in place, this data is likely lost forever. Know that it’s possible for companies to easily bounce back from every disaster-except data loss. Any infrastructure can be put back together. It’s even possible to recreate user e-mail accounts, entire workstations-even servers. However, data can’t be recreated if it is lost. That is, unless a back up system was in place. Imagine trying to remember all the e-mail messages currently in your own in-box and then trying to recreate each e-mail one by one! It’s an impossible task.

      Price IT

      Disaster recovery planning is one area where it doesn’t pay to be cheap. Spending money now to ensure that data is protected later will ultimately save you enormous amounts of money and time. File reconstruction is just one aspect of recovery. Every business also must determine precisely what data has been lost. This task can be a major undertaking in itself. Spending time recreating old files, rather than working on new business, can be detrimental to the company.

      Smart business executives invest in comprehensive back up and disaster recovery solutions. For those small businesses that lack an in-house IT department, consulting with a professional IT company to develop a plan is a wise investment. A good system ensures that servers are protected against critical data loss, while expediting data recovery in the event of server failure.

      Protect IT

      A NAS (network-attached storage) device can provide this data protection, supplying fast virtualization capabilities. This will prove invaluable should a disaster occur in which an entire office worth of data is lost. In this scenario, a new NAS can simply be imaged for use as a virtual server. It will have the most current back up information intact on it. This little piece of hardware offers priceless peace of mind for small business owners.

      Back IT up Offsite

      Another smart component to a disaster recovery plan is a practical off-site back up solution. This allows complete data restoration for workstations, servers or NAS devices. This ensures that the operating system, applications and data of any machine will remain unharmed. Small businesses can even upload their data via a secure Internet connection so that data is securely stored out of the office in a remote data center. In the event of a disaster at work, data remains safe.

      Regularly Test IT

      It is essential for backups to not only run, but to also undergo regular testing. A best practice is to periodically simulate a disaster, and then perform a test restore to ensure that all data is available.

      In addition, data management tools should leverage the latest technologies that allow for recovery to any hardware-including restoration into a virtualized environment. The use of virtualization, in concert with back up and disaster recovery solutions, provides companies with complete coverage. Virtualization separates the hardware and the software, which are typically bound together. In a conventional back up scenario, backups attach to the physical hardware they protect. By adding virtualization to a solution, backups can be leveraged to any physical (or non-physical) hardware. This provides a much more flexible and comprehensive solution.

      So, how prepared is your company for potential data loss? Implement that disaster recovery plan now-before it’s too late!

      /images/stories/heads/sobel_dave70x70.jpg Dave Sobel is the founder and CEO of Evolve Technologies, a consulting firm that provides information technology and computer networking services to small businesses in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Evolve provides a wide array of services including server installation, virus protection, network security, back up services and complete information technology outsourcing. The first Microsoft Small Business Specialist located in the Washington, D.C. area, Evolve is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

      Prior to founding Evolve Technologies, Sobel worked as a Web architect for a consulting company. He also has experience providing security, network and infrastructure design for Fortune 1000 companies. Sobel holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary. He can be reached at [email protected].

      Dave Sobel
      Dave Sobel is the founder and CEO of Evolve Technologies (www.evolvetech.com), a consulting firm that provides information technology and computer networking services to small businesses in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.Evolve Technologies provides a wide array of services including server installation, virus protection, network security, backup services and complete information technology outsourcing. The first Microsoft Small Business Specialist located in the Washington, D.C. area, Evolve Technologies is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Prior to founding Evolve Technologies, Sobel worked as a Web architect for a consulting company. He also has experience doing security, network and infrastructure design for Fortune 1000 companies. Sobel holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary. He can be reached at [email protected]

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×