Mitigate the “Oops Factor” with a Disaster Recovery Plan
Cyber security breaches, leaks, hacks and other computing fiascos have become mainstays in our news cycle, and, more than ever, in our social consciousness. Aside from these numerous dangers, Nashvillians are also keenly aware of the sobering aftermath of a natural disaster and the grim prospect it poses for both homes and businesses alike—especially in regards to IT infrastructure. All of these things serve as a reminder of just how close to the edge of data loss a business can teeter. In our modern world, data is both time and money, and should be similarly guarded.
There is another often-overlooked danger, which may seem relatively benign in comparison to malicious hackers and catastrophic natural disasters. This looming threat could be in your own work environment, lurking at the desk, waiting to announce its arrival with the all-too-familiar yet undeniably unsettling: “Oops.” Of course, this can come in a host of similar forms, including, “Whoops,” “Uh oh,” and more emphatic and colorful exclamations that succinctly state, “I should not have done that.”
Truth be told, you may be the biggest threat to your data.
We experienced this very thing at Concept Technology, when a well-intentioned engineer managed to delete a folder that is mission critical to our operation. This trove of documentation was hosted on our ConceptCloud File Sync, and thanks to the data controls featured in the product, we were able to recover the folder in a manner of minutes. No downtime, no interruption, just a quick restoration. Without the assurances afforded to us by ConceptCloud File Sync, we might have found ourselves on the grueling path to recovery.
Intelligent and capable hands are just as susceptible to the woes of the unintentional mishap as the average user. In fact, NASA recently admitted to taping over the original footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Ultimately, the error was made due to the cost-cutting measure of attempting to reuse magnetic data tapes, and the situation highlighted how recovery efforts consume an obscene amount of resources, time and money.
the tragedy of the Titanic did not start the moment the ship struck the iceberg, but rather, the moment it was decided that ample lifeboats were not a necessity.
Data recovery, when a contingency is not present, can be one of the most unrivaled expenses in the computing world. A 2014 study by EMC, the world’s largest provider of data storage systems, estimated that data loss and the resulting downtime cost organizations a whopping 1.7 trillion dollars in the past year. Of the 3,300 businesses studied, over half had no plan for disaster recovery at all.
While the word “disaster” conjures images of the ravages of natural forces or malicious conspirators executing well-organized attacks, one could easily forget that the most innocent of mishaps or misguided clicks of the mouse could be equally devastating. After all, the tragedy of the Titanic did not start the moment the ship struck the iceberg, but rather, the moment it was decided that ample lifeboats were not a necessity. Soften the blow of data mishaps and ease the pain of “oops” in your environment. As the old adage says, “Accidents happen.” Plan for it.
