Backing up your data

Laptops have legs, accidents do happen and your PC may crash and burn - sad but true, and if you don't have security measures in place then you could be left without the valuable data you need to run your business...

Backing up your data is a sensible way of protecting your business, it allows you to retrieve all of your files and company information should any disaster occur and it may cover you for any insurance claim you may wish to make.

Insuring your valuable company information should be just like insuring your company car - something you do without even thinking about it, but many people don't. It's all too easy to say you're just too busy and you'll do it tomorrow, but when you lose everything that's on your PC's hard drive then it's no good cursing modern technology and throwing your mouse across the room. There is though, an easy solution - data storage.

It isn't a new concept, it's been around for a while but it's only in the past few years that it's value as a service has been really recognised by small businesses.

There are plenty of options available for businesses, it won't cost you the earth and it may save you some serious time and money in the long run.

What to back-up

Depending upon how you choose to back-up your data (see below) this will vary. You should do full system back-ups every once in a while, but there is no need to back-up everything on your entire hard-drive on a weekly basis. The general rule is back-up your most important files and the ones that may have undergone changes since your last full system back-up.

Here is a list of some of the files you may like to consider backing up:

• Any files you have created using office software programs - word files, spreadsheet files, databases. These will show up as .doc, .xls and .ppt files
• All your e-mail/contacts/calendar files - if you run Microsoft Outlook this will be your .pst(s) files
• Your favourite .url files in Internet Explorer and .htm files from Netscape
• Your Windows Registry, which contains all your software settings.
  
  

When to back-up

Regularly is the simple answer. There is no point in having a data storage system and not using it, and the longer you leave between back-ups the more data you risk losing. Most services let you decide so if you want to back-up on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then you can.

The options

Online back-up

This is a service which is becoming more and more popular because it's totally hassle free. Users sign up to a service, download the program, and then specify what they want to back-up and how regularly. The back-up takes place in the background while you work or surf or sleep.

Online data back-up services make the connection to the internet at the time specified by you - so you don't even have to be at your PC for a back-up to take place - as long as it's on it will do it for you. It's a secure service that encrypts then transmits up to 2GB (this is the standard capacity but it is possible to store more) of data to a safe remote centre until you may need it.

You should be aware though that the initial back-up might take quite a while - because it will be transferring all your data, but after that the service will be much quicker.

Tapes

Tape back-ups are usually done on a daily basis although they can be done weekly too if you so desire. With tape back-ups it is possible to back-up just the data and not the programs which uses up much less storage space, you can back-up to 20GB of data to a tape. The only drawback is that you have to manually insert a new tape yourself, unless you buy a whole automatic data storage system. Prices for manual tape back-up units start at around £900, but you can pay up to £3000 for a fully automated tape storage system.

CDs

A CD-Rom can hold up to 620MB of data - a lot less than a tape and the amount offered by online services so if you have a lot of data to back-up then you will be changing CDs every few minutes. Although CD data storage can be a time consuming exercise CD-RW drives are an excellent way of storing your data and they are getting faster all the time. Some CD-RW drives also come with data storage software. They also allow you to archive your data as you go and some suppliers provide technical support.

Try using a search engine like Google to do a search to find the most competitive prices for CD data storage systems.

Remember though that with both tapes and CDs it is important to take the tapes and CDs to a secure location where they can be accessed as and when they are needed.

If you have precious data sitting on your hard-drive then you need to back-up. Unpredictable disasters do happen and although hard-drives are more reliable these days than ever before technology does break down. Natural disasters do occur, lightning may strike twice and thieves and hackers may make off with your valuable company data. It may be an age-old adage but it definitely is, better to be safe than sorry.

Remember you should also always keep copies of your operating system disks like Windows 200/XP software disks like Microsoft Office, preferably stored off site in case of theft, or accidental loss.