What Should I Backup?
Any data that is difficult or impossible to replace should be backed up, along with data essential for the running of the business. Databases, program data, email messages and important documents are all good candidates for inclusion in a backup. You wouldn't normally backup program files because you should be able to re-install these from the original CD's (which, by the way, you do have stored away in a secure location, don't you?).
When Should I Backup?
That depends on how often your data changes. What is important is that you consider this and develop a good backup strategy. There are many different alternatives, each with their pros and cons.
Generally speaking, most small businesses should backup changes to their mission-critical data like accounting and inventory information at least daily, with more comprehensive backups less frequently.
We suggest that you research a variety of different strategies and decide which will be most suitable for your specific situation. A good place to start is a web search for "backup strategy".
Where Should I Backup?
The most basic type of backup is a simple copy of the desired files from their "live" folder to (in order of increasing preference) a different folder, logical disk, physical disk or device, or computer. This will provide limited protection against database corruption or hardware failure and is better than nothing, but may be of little or no use in the event of theft or fire. More advanced backup options involve incremental and differential backups, whereby after the initial full backup only additions and changes are added to the backup media, making backups much faster.
In the days before broadband Internet access was widely available, it was generally held that you should backup to external media, for example, tape, ZIP disk, CD or DVD. If you had a good backup strategy with multiple sets of media for different days of the week, weeks of the month and months of the year, secure offsite storage of the media sets, and procedures which were adhered to by your staff, you could be pretty-well covered. Unfortunately not all businesses are so well-organized, and if staff get out of the habit, or the media sets aren't securely stored offsite, you can still be in trouble if disaster strikes.
CDA Software highly recommends and is an authorized reseller of the Datagard secure, offsite backup solution. With Datagard you use your Internet connection to backup your valuable data to a secure, offsite, commercial backup installation. Your data is encrypted and compressed, and by default can be restored to any backup point in the last 30 days, quickly and to the same or a different computer. Your backups can be scheduled to run overnight for a set and forget solution at a very cost-effective price.
Is There Anything Else I Need To Do?
Yes! It is essential that you test your backups for content and integrity periodically by performing a test Restore. A well-designed test Restore will check not only that your backups are good, but also and most importantly that all the required files are being backed up.
Note that a test Restore should be done under controlled conditions to ensure you don't accidentally overwrite data that hasn't yet been backed up!
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