Diversification Strategy for Your Backups

What is Redundancy, And Why Is It Important?

 

If you’re beginning to learn about storage and backups, you’ve probably seen a lot about “redundancy.” If something is redundant, that just means there’s more of it than you really need at any one time – which is exactly what you want when it comes to backups. You need extra storage and multiple copies of the same data so that you can retrieve information even if it’s lost or corrupted in a particular location or format.

 

Think of it as a diversification strategy for storage: by putting your eggs in multiple baskets (or, rather, your data in multiple storage locations), you lessen the chances of ever losing that data for good. For example, high-value corporate documents (contracts, training manuals, accounting files, and so on) should be backed up to your corporate server, a dedicated hard drive, and off site at a remote location. That way you have several levels of redundancy sitting between your data and disaster. If your office floods, you still have your remote copy. If your server fails, you can fall back on your hard drive.

 

Now, there are all sorts of complexities that come along with this – figuring out what data you need to back up, how often to back up, what level of security you want with a remote storage service, and so on. If you have questions about what storage plan is right for you, just give us a call. We’d be happy to take a look at your network and make a recommendation tailored to the needs of your business.