{"id":2236,"date":"2017-12-22T10:07:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-22T16:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kraftgrp.com\/when-was-the-last-time-you-tested-your-business-backups\/"},"modified":"2017-12-22T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2017-12-22T16:07:45","slug":"when-was-the-last-time-you-tested-your-business-backups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kraftgrp.com\/when-was-the-last-time-you-tested-your-business-backups\/","title":{"rendered":"When Was the Last Time You Tested Your Business Backups?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Best Practices for Testing Data and Application Backups.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Testing<\/p>\n

Data protection is essential for all businesses today. The most important reason is to prevent monetary loss. If you lose your information it can lead to reduced productivity, lost sales, a harmed reputation, fines, or even financial judgments.<\/p>\n

Another reason is the increase in regulations. Governments throughout the world are imposing new regulations on electronic communications and stored data. You can face dire consequences for noncompliance. Loss of critical data can be construed as a violation of these regulations and may result in fines and legal action.<\/p>\n

Data Protection Requires Business Continuity and Reliable Backups.<\/h2>\n

A proactive and well-thought-out business continuity plan<\/a> is something that all system and data administrators must embrace. A layered and proactive data protection strategy can mean the difference between disaster and recovery.<\/p>\n

When it comes to creating a strategic business continuity plan, data and application backups are one of the most important elements. The reasons for implementing reliable backup solutions<\/a> are endless \u2013 software bugs, failed hardware and user error are just some of the ways your data can be unintentionally altered or deleted.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the persistent risk of malicious activity and attempts to destroy, steal or encrypt business data by cybercriminals or disgruntled former employees.<\/p>\n

Data Protection Insurance: Don\u2019t Just Backup, Test!<\/h2>\n

If you don\u2019t test your backups regularly to ensure their working, you\u2019re only doing half the job. Don\u2019t wait until there\u2019s an actual disaster.\u00a0 If you do, you may find that your backups weren\u2019t reliable and your essential data is lost. That\u2019s why regular testing of backups<\/a> for your software, hardware and everything in between is absolutely critical.<\/p>\n

When a data disaster hits, it can be overwhelming and stressful. Worrying about whether or not backups are going to work should be the last thing to worry about in a crisis situation. Backups are designed to offer peace of mind, and \u2013 if implemented correctly and tested regularly \u2013 they can make all the difference in a data crisis.<\/p>\n

Server vs. Virtualization: The Evolution of Backup Testing<\/h2>\n

The key to testing backups is to run drills to determine if your data was successfully restored. For a long time, this process was limited, tedious and time-consuming. When using physical servers for different applications, data restoration had to include a lot of additional hardware. Plus, the environment could only be restored in a very limited way, meaning a full restore of an entire business network rarely occurred.<\/p>\n

However, with today\u2019s virtualization<\/a>, the testing and restore process is now much easier to deploy. Virtualization allows for company data and applications to be organized in a more streamlined way. When using a centralized, virtual machine (VM)<\/a>, recovery from a backup is easier and more reliable.<\/p>\n

Why Test Your Backups? <\/strong><\/p>\n