Backups got your back up?

Written for Funeralcare magazine, March 2019

You know the sayings. Doctors make the worst patients. Bankers never balance their checkbooks. And technology boffins are lazy about backing up their data. The last I really need to get my head around.

If you have a large server-based IT network, you and your dedicated IT team will no doubt have this sorted. For everyone else, it is thankfully straightforward. Work out what to save, how often to save it, and where to save it to.

What to save

Without wishing to go all Marie Kondo on you, the first thing to ask is “Is it important?”

Would take me more than an hour to re-create? Is it possible to re-create? If lost, would it impact my business?

If it is not important, is there a reason you’re hanging on to it? Perhaps you could bring yourself a little joy by deleting it.

How much space does the important stuff take up? Gigabytes, or terabytes?

How sensitive is the information? Should it be encrypted or password-protected?

How important is ease of access and restoration? Do I want to get my data back via the internet, or drive to a remote location to retrieve it?

How often to save

Does the information change daily, weekly, monthly (high volatility) or does it not change at all (low volatility)? Will it be important just this week, until next month or until next year?

Your lyrics library, where you keep the words to songs, poems and the like is an example of information that doesn’t change much. You may add new files, but it is rare to change a file. Such items are best suited to archival backups – done when data is changed or added to.

Service sheets are important until the service has started, but not nearly as important the day after.

Your arrangement database by comparison may be updated hourly or daily and should be backed up as often.

Where to save to

Should I save to cloud, network, or removable media? Each storage method has its pros and cons, and some technologies are blurring the lines between the three methods.

Cloud

The cloud is storage provided at a remote location, and accessed via the internet. Good for information with both low and high volatility.

Cost and accessibility are the main benefits. Data can be encrypted and password-protected. The main risk is losing access to your data (provider stops providing), or having it compromised by unauthorised access. Some providers that have been around a while are:

iCloud: www.apple.com/nz/icloud/

Designed primarily for iOS (Apple) users, but available to Windows users by synchronisation. 5GB free, 2TB around $200 per year.

OneDrive: onedrive.live.com/about/en-nz/plans/

Designed for Windows users through Office 365 subscriptions, interfaces with Android and iOS devices. 5GB free with subscriptions for paid storage.

Google Drive: www.google.com/drive

Both Windows and iOS, and available on Android smartphones and devices. 15GB free. Upgrade to Google One (one.google.com/storage) for paid storage. 2TB $150 per year.

Dropbox: www.dropbox.com

Multi-platform access. 2GB free, 2TB around $330 per year.

Network

Network attached storage is a server or hard drive attached to your computer network. It can often be configured for remote access. Good for information with both low and high volatility.

One-off cost, in-house security, and the ability to schedule automated backups are the main advantages. On the down side, the risk of drive failure. Sophisticated server-based systems offer drive redundancy and mirroring to protect against data loss from drive failure, but these are expensive.

The easiest and most cost-effective devices to set up are personal cloud storage devices. Check out WD My Cloud and Seagate Personal Cloud widely available throughout NZ.

Removable Media

Removable media is an external hard drive or USB drive which connects to a single computer. Good for information with both low and high volatility.

External hard drives have a greater capacity than USB drives. Both are one-off low cost solutions. For information which changes frequently, using two (or more) drives is recommended, with alternate backups being held offsite. This also offers some protection against drive failure.

Automated backups can be scheduled, but they can be slow and unsuited to large volumes of data.

Consumables such as CDs and DVDs are best used for information which doesn’t change often. Their main limitation is that they are not future-proof. Although physically robust, availability is lessening, new computers frequently have no CD/DVD drive, and the media may not be able to be read by future computers. Test and update annually for the best results.

My recommendation? Choose two methods and use them regularly. And while you’re evaluating what to save, go a little Marie Kondo.