We have frequently espoused the benefits of data backups, referring to how critical they are should your business experience a disaster at any scale. However, there is always the concern that your backups could also be altered negatively. This is one reason that immutable backups exist.

Let’s take a few moments to examine the concept of an immutable backup and its benefits.

The world’s biggest IT catastrophe forced airlines, hospitals, 911 call centers, and banks (among other businesses) to their knees last month. The costs from this massive outage are estimated to reach several billion dollars. We’re all going to be talking about it for several more months, and we’ll likely be seeing some high-level litigation. This blunder could potentially change the way we all think about IT and security, as well as create new laws.

The craziest thing (so far) about the entire CrowdStrike outage is how incredibly fast it crashed the entire world. I think this is the most important lesson for business owners to learn from.

A disaster can strike when you least expect it. It doesn’t matter how small or large your business is; there is always the possibility that your company could have to deal with the technological fallout of a disaster. Here are four ways you can prepare for that inevitable day.

It’s no secret that things are more expensive nowadays, making it important that businesses have access to the technology needed to generate revenue. Without this access, a business suffers downtime and all the challenges it brings… not something you want to do.

Let’s consider why downtime happens, the scale of its costs, and what can be done to avoid it.

Ransomware is more than just a buzzword. It's a real and growing threat to businesses everywhere. In cities like Baltimore, ransomware attacks are on the rise. They're causing massive disruptions and costing businesses dearly.

Every organization deals with operational problems in one manner or another. There are dozens of situations that can cause downtime, and having a comprehensive data backup plan can alleviate many of them. This month’s newsletter discusses business continuity and how data backup is a critical piece of that process. 

Nowadays, businesses need to be prepared for almost every circumstance. You may have heard the term “BDR” used to describe a method of attaining this level of preparation. We wanted to discuss this term in more depth, covering what it refers to and what you need to do to protect your business should BDR be right for you.

Spoiler alert: it very much is.

No matter how well-prepared your business is, mistakes and unforeseen events can still happen. From natural disasters to human error, there are many potential risks that can disrupt your business operations. That's why it's crucial to have a solid business continuity plan in place.

How often do you think about your data backup system? If you’re like most businesses, it’s something that you will likely set up, then quickly forget about, provided you haven’t had to use it. Still, having one is essential to any modern business, and building it with clear outcomes and metrics in mind will help you make your data backup system more effective for the moments when you’re glad you have it.

IT professionals have all but proclaimed the tape backup system, which dominated the data backup space for decades, to be all but dead. This declaration may have been premature however. Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence in companies that use tape backup. This week, we will go into why businesses are willingly utilizing what can only be described as an antiquated technology for their system redundancy. 

If a business is in operation today, it needs to have preparations in order to protect itself and its data from potential disasters—a fact that has only become more pressing as digital data has become the norm. Let’s take a few moments to go over what today’s businesses need to include in their disaster recovery preparations to ensure that their data remains protected.

We are of the firm belief that data backup is crucial to the continued success of any business. It can be the differentiating factor for a business that is successful and one that less unfortunate circumstances knock them off the grid for good. You can invest in your business’ future with a solid data backup solution, even if it’s there simply as a preventative measure.

According to the weather forecast, we Marylanders are in for a winter that is unreasonably cold and unreasonably snowy. Based on our experience, that’s the exact recipe for weather-induced business disasters. We strongly, strongly recommend that you ensure that you have your business continuity plans in order.

How seriously does your business take data backup and disaster recovery? You might not be able to predict the future or what might occur, but you can at least prepare for it to mitigate the damage it could potentially bring about. Today, we want to share some of the best practices you can implement to combat even the worst disaster scenarios your organization might encounter.

In business, you need to be ready for anything, including potential disaster scenarios. Therefore, it stands to reason that you have a solid disaster recovery plan in place to help you address them should the need arise. We’ve outlined three disaster recovery best practices you should consider for your business continuity strategy, as well as some tips to help you implement them seamlessly into your own operations.

Look, nobody likes picturing the worst-case scenario that could befall their business—even doing so might feel a bit like memorizing a divorce attorney's number as you write your wedding vows. However, failing to have some strategy in place could very well lead to your business’ downfall. What does it take to properly plan and prepare for the possibility of a disaster, and the associated recovery you’ll have to undergo?

Disaster recovery is one of those platforms that businesses don’t want to have to use, but need to spend ample time planning in case they do. This is rather unique in business, so only by truly understanding what you need to get out of your disaster recovery strategy can you create the comprehensive DR system that your business requires. 

Over the week of June 14, a lot of applications and websites experienced outages, creating problems for many companies until it was resolved. Not only did these outages create business continuity issues, they’ve also exposed just how vulnerable the Internet is to these kinds of issues. Let’s take a look at what happened.

Managed IT services have grown from a niche offering to a well-known concept in recent years, with many businesses already relying on outsourced IT services to some degree. In many ways, this only makes sense, as it allows businesses to enjoy access to services that would otherwise cost too much for them to independently adopt and support.

With a business’ data being such a priority nowadays, protecting it against all circumstances needs to be appropriately attended to. One fundamental component of this protection is the implementation of a proper backup strategy. Let’s go over the most foundational element of a successful backup, and how we recommend businesses to accomplish it: redundancy.