As a business, you rely on data for just about everything you do. If you’ve ever had the electricity or internet go out for any length of time, you know just how dependent we’ve become on technology.
Now imagine losing your data forever. In one moment - poof! - it’s gone. What would that do to your practice?
That’s why backing up data is crucial to a business’s survival. But there’s more to it than just having a copy of what you’re working on today. It’s equally important to ensure your data is safe from viruses, hackers, and natural disasters.
Is continuous data protection for backup a solution?
Continuous data protection is a form of backup protection that automatically updates every change in real-time. As you change your data, the backup changes right along with it.
The true power of continuous data protection is that you’ll always be covered. Every change will be recorded to keep you up to date, whether out in the field or sitting behind your desk at the office. It works by “copying” any change made to the data from the computer being backed up to the source drive it’s backed to. It records every single change into a changelog on the system. This allows you to recover any lost client data quickly.
In some instances, continuous data protection plans will also allow an off-site replication for even greater recovery in a disaster. This provides a second storage facility that captures data in real-time and holds it for protection. It can apply to any form of data you utilize:
- Messages
- Data files
- Application data and files
- Database logs
The benefits of continuous data protection
There’s a reason many businesses trust continuous data protection: it keeps every change safe from potential threats. The biggest benefits include:
- Every change is recorded, which gives you a log to recover data from at any point in time
- Every data change is preserved, which can give you stronger compliance
- You can have multiple backup locations, keeping your data safe in case of disasters
- With multiple copies to refer to, you can move seamlessly to different data points without worrying about data loss
Of course, continuous data protection isn’t the end-all, and has a few drawbacks you should be aware of.
First of all, continuous data protection requires fast technology and plenty of storage space, which can increase costs. If it’s moving to a single data storage location, that can raise your risk of potential problems in case of failure. Having two or more storage points increases costs even more.
Having a duplicate database also increases your need for storage space, as you have two or more data resources at any given point. This can be a tremendous volume of information, depending on what you do.
Finally, having duplicate actions for every task you perform can cause performance issues. If you are facing slow speeds and overwhelming amounts of data, this can add to your problems.
Is continuous data protection your solution?
Data security is a vital part of any security plan. Backup can come in many shapes and sizes, yet what’s most important is that it leaves you covered and reduces your risk.
Continuous data protection can be a viable feature scaling organizations that want to protect their sensitive data. The more data you develop over the years, the more this form of backup makes sense.
Not sure what backup plan is best to suit your needs? Let’s talk. We’ll help you find the perfect plan.
For IT Strategy, Cloud Conversion, or Help Desk Services reach out to us at Silver Linings Technology 360-450-4759.
