Every business needs to be secure today. Data backup and disaster recovery are key tools to keep your office safe and in business.
There are two items essential to every business today:
- a robust, secure data network
- continued access to vital business information and documents
Without either of those, no business can succeed.
Hackers are everywhere and they want your information – cybercriminals can even buy ransomware software on the dark Web (this isn't some novel of a dystopian future, you can read about it here.)
Adding to the difficulty in protecting businesses is a looming cybersecurity skills gap. There aren't enough people now to fill all of the available positions focused on information and cybersecurity.
As hackers become more aggressive and spending increases (Gartner estimates global security spending to top $90 billion in 2018), that gap will widen.
IT staff with the knowledge you need to keep your business secure will become harder to find and more expensive to retain. This will be an especially acute issue for SMBs.
Combine this need to keep networks secure and the need to simply manage the network and provide other IT infrastructure services such as backup and recovery – not to mention needing to plan for the future, troubleshoot issues for staff, stay educated, and (I assume) sometimes sleep – and you can see how an IT department can become stretched thin very quickly.
How can your office overcome these challenges?
For many businesses, outsourcing is the right answer.
Network security and access to information/documents are basic IT functions. Twenty years ago, they may have delivered competitive advantages to business. Today, these are basic functions that every business needs – like lights or a telephone.
You wouldn't create your own power plant or phone company, would you?
Total Data Protection
Many of our data protection services are built on Datto technology. They like to use a phrase that I like, “Total Data Protection.”
When you're looking to outsource the management of your network and it's security, there are a few things you need to be sure your managed services partner can deliver:
- Scalability – can they grow with you over time?
- Fast recovery time – how quickly do you need to recover your data? Based on your service level agreements, do you need seconds, minutes, or hours?
- A responsive help desk – being passed along the line when you need help NOW is annoying and, in this case, disruptive to your office. Here's how we operate our help desk.
Total data protection means that your information will be available for you. It's a combination of data backup and business continuity and disaster recovery.
Why should you invest in this for your office?
Let's take an increasingly common occurrence – a ransomware attack. Suddenly, your office's documents are locked and all you can see is a “pay the ransom” message. With total data protection, you simply contact your service provider and they'll restore your system from backup.
Depending on your agreement, you could lose a small amount of data or even a full day's worth. You need to work with your managed IT services partner to identify the right recovery speed for your business – some business need to have fast recovery and pay a bit more for that speed. Others don't – don't purchase more or less than you need!
A few of the technology underpinnings that enable total data protection by Datto are:
- Hardware independent restore on virtualization –
- Inverse chain technology – eliminates broken backup chains
- Instant virtualization – boot a server image instantly in the case of disaster
- Hybrid virtualization – a combination of instant off-site virtualization and the single click connectivity of instant local virtualization
- Ransomware detection – detect ransomware and restore from a previous backup
Ignoring data backup and continuity is a potential recipe for disaster. But you don't have to do it yourself.
Ready to think about outsourcing? Download our free eBook below and see if a managed IT partner could be right for you.
