Why Backups Are Important
Backing up data regularly is critical for any business. Server crashes, ransomware attacks, and natural disasters can all lead to catastrophic data loss if proper backups are not in place. Investing in a robust backup solution can prevent these disasters from destroying your business.
Here are some key reasons why backups are so important:
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Protects against data loss: Backups give you a way to restore deleted or corrupted files. Without backups, data loss can be impossible to recover from.
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Allows recovery from disasters: Whether it’s a flooded office or a ransomware attack, backups allow you to restore data even after major disasters.
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Meets compliance requirements: Many regulations like HIPAA require keeping backups of critical data. Failing to have backups can lead to major compliance violations.
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EnablesPoint-in-Time restores: Backups allow restoring data from specific points in time. This can be useful for recovering from malware or accidental changes.
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Provides insurance for the business: Losing key data can cripple or even destroy a business. Maintaining backups provides an insurance policy against this worst-case scenario.
Key Things to Highlight about Backup Systems
When making the case to your boss, focus on these key factors:
Security
- Backups should encrypt sensitive data to prevent breaches.
- Backups should use secure network protocols and store data in encrypted formats.
- Access to backups should be tightly restricted only to essential staff.
Reliability
- Backups should happen automatically on a fixed schedule, not rely on manual efforts.
- A good backup solution takes incremental backups regularly with periodic full backups.
- The system should verify backups to ensure they are usable and send alerts for any errors.
Recovery Capabilities
- Quickly restoring data is key in any disaster scenario. Stress fast recovery times.
- The solution should allow restoring individual files, mailboxes, and application data on demand.
- POINT-IN-TIME restores let you “rewind” back to any date and time to undo issues.
Cost Effectiveness
- Balance features and quality with affordability when selecting a backup solution.
- Leverage built-in tools like Microsoft 365 backup or existing infrastructure where possible.
- Consider cost of downtime if data is lost versus costs of backup system.
Scalability
- As data needs grow, the backup system should smoothly scale up without complexity.
- Cloud-based backups offer elastic scalability to handle large data sets.
Suggest Backup Strategies and Specific Solutions
Don’t just make a general case for why backups matter. Bring up specific strategies relevant to your company’s needs:
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Local on-site backups: Use an on-premises backup appliance suitable for your data volumes.
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Cloud backups: Services like IBM Cloud Backup can securely backup data to the cloud.
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Point-in-time snapshots: Leverage snapshot functionality on storage systems like Dell EMC or NetApp.
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Microsoft 365 backup: Vendors like Veeam offer backup for Microsoft 365 data.
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Disaster recovery: Discuss offerings like Zerto that replicate data offsite for DR.
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Backup monitoring: Solutions like Solarwinds Backup Monitor can verify job status.
Compare solutions based on price, features, and whether they match your recovery objectives. Make a recommendation tailored to your needs.
Focus on Outcomes – Preventing Disaster and Downtime
Rather than focusing just on technical details, emphasize how the right backup solution can prevent the costly business disruption that comes with data loss events. Discuss how it:
- Averts the reputational damage and lost revenue from days of downtime.
- Protects from the irreparable harm of losing intellectual property or competitive data.
- Guards against failure to meet compliance obligations.
- Prevents having to notify customers that their personal data has been lost.
With the right backup strategy, your business can sleep well knowing critical data is secure and always available when needed. Stress how protecting data protects the business as a whole.
Estimate Total Costs and Present a Rollout Plan
To make approval more likely, do some homework ahead of time:
- Research different backup solutions and evaluate costs. Get price quotes.
- Estimate any implementation, licensing, or ongoing costs. Include labor.
- Propose a rollout timeline and deployment plan customized for your infrastructure.
- Highlight any built-in features or existing equipment you can leverage to save costs.
Having a well-formed proposal shows you have done due diligence and thought through how to execute backup properly. Your boss will have more confidence approving a plan that is actionable versus a vague request.
Make the Case Persistently and Patiently
Getting signoff for a new backup system can take persistence. Be prepared to make your case patiently over multiple discussions.
- Document objective factors like compliance issues or recovery metrics to back up your case.
- Acknowledge current budget constraints but stress the long-term value.
- Offer phased rollout options as a compromise to get started.
- Loop in other stakeholders like compliance heads who can lend support.
- Provide reminders whenever incidents like outages occur that backups could have prevented.
Getting backing for major new investments takes time. Make sure decision makers have all the information – and reminders – to finally get essential backup systems approved.
