Data loss can be devastating for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and it’s a very real risk in the face of natural disasters, cyber attacks (including ransomware), human error, and hardware failure. If you haven’t got safeguards in place, you could be left facing serious disruption and downtime alongside financial loss, impacted client trust, and lost productivity. Severe data loss can even force SMBs to close their doors.
To avoid these consequences, data backups and disaster recovery planning are essential practices for your business. Today we’re covering the basics, going through a practical checklist you should tick off annually to stay on top of everything, and looking at how our experts can support you with the process.
The Australian SMB Landscape
Australian SMBs need to consider unique local factors that could lead to data loss, and stay on top of data laws and regulations. This includes:
- The current cyber threat landscape, where cyber attacks continue to be on the rise, are becoming smarter and easier for cyber criminals to produce with the help of AI, and are targeting SMBs who often aren’t prepared to defend their operations and data against an attack.
- Common natural disasters in Australia, like bushfires, floods, cyclones, damaging storms and more (depending on your location) that can pose a threat to your physical hardware.
- Compliance requirements and laws, like the Privacy Act 1988 that governs how personal information is handled.
With this in mind, let’s jump into how you can safeguard data with data backup and disaster recovery.
What is Data Backup and Disaster Recovery?
Data Backup: This means creating copies of your files and systems. Data should be backed up regularly to local locations (like a server or hard drive) or the cloud, and these copies need to be consistently tested for reliability.
Both options have their advantages – local backups support faster recovery and more control, while cloud backups offer scalable storage and safeguard your data against natural disasters and hardware failure. However, you might not need to choose between them if a hybrid approach is right for your requirements.
Disaster Recovery: While it might seem like data backups are enough on their own, a disaster recovery plan is essential to provide clear steps so you can swiftly resume regular operations.
This comprehensive plan should:
- Assess risks that could affect your data.
- Identify critical data and systems.
- Assign roles and responsibilities in the event of a disaster.
- Define the data backup process – from which data should be backed up, to how regularly backups occur.
- Include procedures to respond to a disaster and restore critical systems.
- Outline relevant communications for stakeholders, staff, and clients.
If you need support to implement reliable backups or create a disaster recovery plan, our experts can help.An Essential Checklist: What SMBs Should Review Annually
Once your data backup and disaster recovery processes are in place, the last thing you want is to leave them on autopilot. Instead, it’s important to review everything annually to ensure it’s ready to go when disaster strikes. Here’s our go-to checklist:
| Backup Frequency and Testing | Look at how often your data is being backed up, how often these backups are being tested, and how reliable they are when accessed. |
| Disaster Recovery Plan | Your disaster recovery plan shouldn’t be set and forget – if you need to use it, you want it to be relevant. It’s important to review this plan each year, considering factors like new risks or technology changes that have occurred within the business. |
| Staff Training | Ensure your staff are educated around data security. This is essential to reduce human error (including accidental deletion), teach your team how to properly store and share data, and support compliance requirements. |
| Cyber Security Layers | Do your cyber defences safeguard you against emerging threats? From firewalls to antivirus, multi-factor authentication, and staff training, it’s important to revisit the measures keeping you and your data safe. |
| Compliance with Australian Data Regulations | You should review regulations, like the Privacy Act, to understand your responsibilities and any changes, and ensure your practices align with them. Non-compliance can lead to fines, so this is an essential step. |
| Vendor or Service Provider Review | It’s critical to review the businesses you’re relying on to support dependable, speedy, and secure data backups. This includes making sure they have robust cyber security implemented, that they’re aligned with necessary compliance requirements, that backups are being tested, and the speed at which backups can be recovered. |
How Insource IT Can Help
While this can seem overwhelming at first glance, it’s a manageable process when tackled step by step – especially when you’ve got the right guidance and support. At Insource we’ve got the expertise and tools to ensure our clients can count on regular, reliable data backups, up to date disaster recovery plans, and rapid recovery when something goes wrong. If you’d like an assessment or support with your setup, get in touch with our team today.
