• 2,000: the number of laptops lost or stolen every day
• 32%: percentage of data loss caused by human error
• $1,500: average cost to recover data from a crashed hard drive
• 15: seconds before the next hard drive crash in the US
• 60%: proportion of SMBs that close down within 6 months of a major data loss

Here’s a brief primer on data backup and disaster recovery solutions for you:

Data backup and disaster recovery solutions work on a simple principle of making a copy of your data and storing it in a secondary location that’s easily accessible should the main data store get compromised. That second copy can be stored at an onsite location or in a different building, city or state depending on your business continuity requirements (for those of you who think storing it in a different city is an overkill, think New Orleans 2005).

Why It’s on Our Radar

For most of our clients, their intellectual property is the most valuable asset they own. From client lists, project data and HR files to meeting notes and emails sent three years ago, you need your information every day to keep your business alive and growing. Yet 90% of the time someone calls us asking for a data backup solution, we can answer the phone with “we’re very sorry to hear about your data loss.”

Learn from other people’s mistakes. It’s a fact: you WILL at some point lose your data. It can be something as simple as saving over an existing file with 5 hours of work in it (this quickly gets expensive if you bill $250 an hour), or as dramatic as your server room getting flooded right before an IRS audit. Getting an effective backup and disaster recovery strategy in place may save you many headaches and unpredictable expenses in the future.

Solution Types

Going by the sales pitches you’ll hear, there are a thousand ways to get your data backed up. In reality, there is only one major distinction that matters to you: where your data is stored.

• With onsite storage, your data will be backed up to a storage device such as a tape drive, hard drive, DVD or some other media — and stored in your office, at least for the short term. The advantages of this method are that you can back up a lot of data at a relatively low cost and restore it very quickly should an incident occur. Unfortunately, this way of backing up does you little good if your entire office goes up in flames.

• With offsite storage, a copy of your files is sent via the Internet (usually at night) to a secure location that can be virtually anywhere on the planet. This obviously provides greater physical security, but can cost more as you are usually charged depending on how much offsite storage you need.

With either method, backups can be scheduled to happen automatically, when files or entire folders you select are monitored for change and are backed up without your involvement. Sometimes a combination of backup methods works best, and an appropriate schedule can be set up  to get the best balance of cost and data security.

Vendors to Watch

You can have a vendor like IT MAX Group build your own onsite storage solution for you (which is often cheaper) — or go with a packaged product from providers like:

• Barracuda
• Computer Associates

Some good offsite backup vendors are:

• Symantec
• IBackup

Why It’s on Our Radar

It’s a mature technology that works well, it gives you extreme flexibility and it pays for itself very quickly with convenience and increased productivity.

Solution Types

The most common remote access solution is Remote Desktop Access, a technology that allows you to use your home machine, for example, to display the desktop of your office computer. The experience is rather seamless, although there can be a slight delay in mouse and keyboard inputs, and the color depth of the office computer’s screen may be degraded to enhance performance and conserve bandwidth. You can work with all of your work files and applications just the same as if you were sitting at your office PC, and since you’re just “viewing” your office desktop, none of the sensitive files actually leave the office.

There are two types of remote desktop solutions: the do-it-yourself type and the ready-to-use type.

• The do-it-yourself remote access uses the built-in capabilities of your Windows operating system to provide a remote desktop connection. In its simplest form without any added security, the service isn’t difficult to set up and offers great performance. We always recommend, however, that a remote access solution be used in conjunction with a virtual private network (VPN) to provide secure connectivity over the internet. The VPN can be a stand-alone system or be incorporated into your firewall or network router, but it is essential if you’re dealing with sensitive customer, project and company information. The do-it-yourself way is free to use as much as you want and leverages your existing technologies, but it may take a bit of time to set up.
• The ready-to-use remote access solutions are designed to include all the tools you need to be up and running quickly. Popular services like GoToMyPC and PCanywhere typically include software for both the office and the home computer and provide a secure framework for data transmission. The main benefit of these solutions is that they are easy to set up and use (although your existing firewall can give you some trouble) and can provide you great features like multi-monitor support, drag-and-drop file transfer and others. The disadvantage is that they all come at a monthly subscriber charge.

Which method you choose depends on your existing IT infrastructure, your security requirements and the number of employees you expect to be working remotely.

Vendors to Watch

The do-it-yourself remote access solutions will be based on your existing hardware and software. Some ready-to-use products we’ve recommended include:

• GoToMyPC
• PCanywhere
• RemotePC
• LogMeIn

Why You Should Care

Gaining an hour of work per week for just one of your employees will pay for 95% of remote access solutions on the market today. The technology is a great investment and a great convenience — especially with the winter coming up!