In today’s digital world, data is no longer owned only by tech companies or IT departments. All companies have data that are crucial to their business. And contrary to the common belief among many offline businesses, data is not only for purposes of record-keeping. In fact, they are the core of providing good products and services of a company.
All companies have their assets, don’t they? But do you realize that your data is one of your assets too?
These days, more and more companies are starting to study their company data to improve their products and services, which in turn leads to higher company sales and an increase in customer’s lifetime value.
“In 2016, Microsoft Corp. acquired the online professional network LinkedIn Corp. for $26.2 billion.” sloanreview.mit.edu
How much do your company data mean to you? Is data backup needed for your company?
WHY you should backup your personal/company data…
Especially if you have spent so long on creating and accumulating your artwork/data, losing them can be a huge loss, especially if your data consist of highly confidential information that has been kept for a long time.
These data can be music clips, movies files, films, data files, projects, or even photos, especially if you’re in the creative/design industry.
Keeping all of your data in only one place is dangerous, insecure and risky. Computer loss, theft, natural disaster, and accidental deletion (just to name a few) are some of the possibilities where you can lose your important data.
What is a Computer Backup?
Making a computer backup means keeping an extra copy of the data you currently have elsewhere. In this case, we are referring to making additional copies of the original files that you have on your laptop, desktop, or even servers.
[IMPORTANT] It’s important that you do not keep different backup copies in the same device.
Imagine if all backup copies are kept in your laptop – when it crashes/is infected by a virus, you will lose all your copies since they are all similarly affected.
There are a few types of backups which can work perfectly for you.
1: External Thumb Drive/ External Hard Drive
Yes, this is the most common way most people save their data. A thumb drive is easy to use and the size of a thumb drive makes it easy to carry around.
However, the downside is its relatively small storage capacity and the fact that it can get misplaced easily. External Hard Drive, on the other hand, offers larger storage space and better speed during data transfer.
Its downside is that it can be quite fragile when accidentally dropped on the floor. In addition, technical problems are also a potential threat.
2: Bootable Drive Backup (Clone Backup)
Bootable Backup is also called a “clone” backup. Works like a “spare tyre” to a car, it is able to replace your current primary storage (aka Hard Drive) and allows you to continue working.
A clone backup is a complete copy of your computer’s primary hard drive (sometimes also called “boot drive”).
For example, if your primary drive dies, you can connect to the clone, reboot your computer, and have immediate access to not only all of your files but also all of the software you’re using.
And this include the settings and configuration you have made previously.
[Important] A Clone backup will only be useful if it has been updated regularly.
Otherwise important files or updates might be missing. However, backing up every file on your computer takes a while, and it’s best not to use your computer while the cloning process is working.
You may need a nice algorithms software to handle this, as it takes high processing power while handling your current processing task.
3: Cloud Backup
Having multiple copies with Clone Backup is the best practice to secure your data. However, your data must be able to be constantly synchronized with your backup to keep your data safe from for theft, fire, and also other natural/accident disaster.
However, here is a much better solution – cloud backups, which is the easiest way to create and maintain your data integrity with minimal synchronizing problems.
To get started, you simply just need to create an account, download a software agent, run it once to verify your account information, and set your preferences before allowing it to fully function as you wish.
After the initial setup, you can enjoy peace of mind as the software will automatically keep your computer backed up at all times as long as you are connected to the Internet.
As it has been tested by 500,000 business users, cloud backup services are proved to be optimized for processing as it won’t take a big amount of processing power and memory to maintain your backup.
A Complete Guide To Backup Your Personal Computer – Exabytes 2nd Life Cloud Backup
How backup can help you to keep the “Bad Guy” away?
Recently, there are many vulnerability threats or malwares that would harm your computer or servers. A Trojan through a loaded hyperlink can be accidentally opened by a victim through an email, advert on a web page or a Dropbox link, or even a SQL query that would later break your running server application.
Once it has been activated, the program spreads through the computer/servers and locks all the files with encryption codes that demand credit from you to decrypt your data files. One example is WannaCry Ransomware.
Find out more about Ransomeware HERE
A must-read update for ransomeware: The Era of Ransomware has arrived
