How to make a good backup

There are several situations where you need a backup. For example, when a hard drive crashes. Or in the event of a fire or burglary. You may be a victim of cybercrime, or an employee may accidentally delete important files. Government research in 2020 shows that 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs only back up their business files occasionally. There is room for improvement. But how do you make a good backup?

 

What should you back up?

Take a good look at all the digital information in your business. Now imagine that this data is no longer there. How badly would this affect your business? Some information can be downloaded again, such as a supplier's brochure. Losing something like this is not a disaster. But what if it is your new product design? Losing that would certainly be a problem. That is why you should always back up this type of important data.

Security

A backup is a collection of your most important business data. Secure the backup with a password. That way, not just anyone can access it. Are you making a backup on a separate hard drive? Make sure it is disconnected from your business network and store the device securely.

Storage obligation

A backup is always useful, but sometimes it is also mandatory. Certain business information is subject to a storage obligation. For example, you must store the basic data of your business administration for 7 years.

Cloud storage is not a backup

With cloud storage, you store documents online outside your own network. This allows you to access them at any time. The cloud also makes it easy to collaborate with others on the same files.

The cloud storage provider usually also makes backups, but this is no substitute for your own backups. The provider could go bankrupt, or fall victim to a cyber attack. Then you would still lose your files. So make sure you also back up your files in the cloud regularly.

Do not store locally

Never store business data locally, for example on a laptop or personal thumb drive. Make sure your employees are aware of this. It is usually impossible to include locally stored data in the business's backup. So, work in the cloud or on a network drive. With such centralised storage, you can include everything in your backup at once.

How to make a really good backup

The 3 tips below will help you make a really good backup. Remember: any form of backup is better than no backup at all.

1. Backup regularly

It is best to make a daily backup, especially of your most important business data. If something goes wrong, you will only lose one day's worth of data. Do you have staff? Then work on a single network drive or in the cloud as much as possible. Set your operating system to make a daily backup. Or choose backup software that does this automatically for you. If necessary, ask your IT administrator for help.

2. Keep backup physical and digital

A separate hard drive or thumb drive can break or be stolen. So, you should also make an online backup. That way, you will always have 2 copies of important data. Keep the physical backup outside your business behind lock and key.

3. Test your backup regularly

Regularly test whether restoring data actually works. At the very least, check whether you can retrieve files from a backup. Even better is a to test an incident: pretend that a hard drive has crashed or that a folder containing important data has been deleted. How easily and quickly can you restore your data? Practising will ensure you are well prepared for an emergency.