Every day is Backup Day

By: Matthew Johnston, Area Vice President, ASEAN & Korea, Commvault

Just like Valentine's Day should be celebrated every day, every day should be backup day. "Back up early and back up often" is standard operating procedure and a policy that every organization should institute to ensure data can be recovered in the event of a crisis or security breach. Here are a few tips that businesses should consider when backing up data on this special day:

• Back up big data: This may sound straightforward, however, big data initiatives require new approaches and technologies to store, index and analyze huge data sets, while minimizing storage requirements and driving faster outcomes. However, as companies begin these initiatives, they often forgo applying data protection and disaster recovery routines to these large data sets sitting outside their traditional systems due to complexity, performance and cost restrictions. It is important to remember to backup big data sets or risk the loss of high value datasets every single day.

• Federate data for better data governance: In today's data universe, enterprises don't just have a few data points and silos. To federate data is to seamlessly protect, recover, move, find and deliver apps and data spanning different infrastructures, and to also access and use data without having to move it. Complying with an increasing number of compliance requirements in regulated industries is also a reality that today's businesses need to deal with. By having data federated under one corporate governance capability, businesses can better put auditable policies on data ensuring they comply with regulations.

• Cloud as an enabler for backup and recovery: Many organizations are turning to the cloud as a key enabler to perform backup and recovery processes, assuming that their data is protected as part of the service. Some customers rely on the security of recovery and lack backup tools in the cloud, leaving them less well protected than before with their on-premise systems. Before it's too late, make sure any disaster recovery plan is comprehensive enough to include options in the Cloud or on premise.

• Maintain a bird's eye view with a single, consolidated approach: Backup and recovery solutions are best implemented on an end-to-end protection basis, including management and access to all data from a single platform. A single platform with centralized backup policy for all data assets can help organizations assess the scope of potential information exposure, while ensuring a complete view into data across applications, devices, operating systems and locations. An IDC survey revealed last year that companies have been able to achieve value through the simplification of data protection and management processes. For instance, businesses find that they are able to reduce the time required for troubleshooting in backup by 60 percent .

Truth be told, every day should be backup day because in this day and age, backing up your data alone isn't enough. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape - driven by an ever-growing data volume organizations expect 24/7 availability and recoverability speed in an "always-on" world. Time is a strategic asset that is well and truly upon us. Only those who can genuinely use data to drive outcomes will succeed in tomorrow's economy.