DATA BACKUP STRATEGIES SERIES

The hardware being disk (VTL), tapes and drives can fail.

Why? Because files are missing or the data is corrupted. вЂњThis is flawed because when they experience data loss or they realise that data cartridges where the data is supposed to be stored are empty. Arshad Munir Sharif, General Manager for System & Technology Group, IBM Malaysia says most organisations have a habit of backing up their data daily but donвЂ™t perform testing of the backed data. Yes they do regular backups but no consistent testing was done. This is the sin of the Asian conglomerate I mentioned above.

SMBs fare no better adding USB disk-based backup solutions which pose a вЂњhuge risk of data lossвЂќ. But in many cases he laments that these are siloed and therefore ineffective. He notes that large enterprises typically have a disk-based or tape-based backup strategy. PK Gupta, Senior Director and Chief Architect, EMC Data Protection and Availability Division, Asia Pacific and Japan (I know it's a mouthful) says this is the worst possible thing to do (or not do). Number one on the list is not having a backup at all.

DATA BACKUP STRATEGIES SERIES

In this first of a two-part series we highlight common backup practices that should be corrected. So we asked several backup vendors about the horror stories they have heard over the years and to pick the worst backup strategies from among the lot. This happened because a disaster occurred and IT could not recover data from tapes. Years ago, the CIO of an Asian multinational conglomerate discovered that data backed to tapes were unreliable. For others itвЂ™s the fear of being blamed if something happens вЂ“ and MurphyвЂ™s Law says it will.Д«ut not all backup implementations work well.

For others itвЂ™s someoneвЂ™s learned experience on what happens when you donвЂ™t back up your data. For some it's a necessity driven by compliance from customers or regulators. Few organisations would dispute the importance of backup.

Data backup strategies