No business should put themselves at risk by failing to protect important information but many companies are unaware of exactly how to secure their data. An effective back-up strategy is the best type of protection any business can have against theft, fire, human error, disgruntled employees (or ex-employees!) or software viruses.

Whichever data storage solution that is being used it must be used in the correct way and maintained consistently. The first four steps to ensure that the correct solution is in place are:

1) Ensure that you chose the correct amount of storage for the data you have

2) Buy enough tapes to allow for rotation

3) Using cleaning cartridges regularly

4) Take back-up tapes off-site and store them safely

By spending just a few minutes to ensure all of the above steps are taken you could ensure that your company’s data is properly protected.

Tape Rotation is the key to a successful data back-up strategy

Remember that 1 tape is not enough for a successful strategy, the key steps for success are TOE:

T – Tape Rotation (don’t use the same tape two days in a row)

O – Off-site Copy (store the tapes off-site)

E – Every Day (back-up every day)

As an absolute minimum it is recommend that you have enough tapes to perform a simple 5 day/5 tape scheme, but ideally a two week strategy is suggested.

Without a plan in place like this data recovery can end up being a very expensive remedy. Speak to your local business IT support company to find out more about data recovery solutions.

HBP Systems Ltd, Woodhouse Road, Scunthorpe, DN16 1BD, http://www.hbpsystems.co.uk