Posts Tagged ‘data backup’

How to Create A Backup Workflow

February 24th, 2010

With the anmount of data that we store on our computers these days, it is important to develop a good data backup workflow. Imagine if you had a hard drive that crashed on your computer, a hard drive that contains all your data. Now what if you couldn’t recover any of your data from the crash hard drive? If you think it would impact you severely, then perhaps it is time to think about developing a data backup workflow.

Most people probably don’t think about a data backup workflow, or solution, because it sounds too complex or expensive. While you may spend some money, it doesn’t have to be expensive, or even complex. There are not software tools that can help automate the process for you, so you don’t even have to think about backing up your data – it is done automatically for you.

Let’s take a look at the expense of backing up your data, since this is the point that probably stops many people from protecting their data. Data backup doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to be if you want to keep your data safe. One of the most common media to backup your data is that of DVD-ROM discs. These discs can hold 4.7GB of data, or more if you were to go with double-layer or Blu-ray discs, which may be large enough to store all your data. Each disc typically is only a few cents, and you can usually buy them in spindles of 100. If you have a lot of data, and don’t want to burn many discs, then you can look into purchasing an external hard drive. These now come in sizes that are over one terabyte, which should be more than enought to backup your data.

The other reason many people probably don’t backup their data is that they feel it can be complex. The good news is that there are many software applications available, both free and vendor applications, that can help remove this complexity. For Windows users, XP, Vista and Windows 7 have a backup tool available within the operating system. While it may not have many options, it is still a good free soltuion. Many of the backup tools you can download online can help automate your data backup. These tools usually run in the background and backup any file changes from the directories or files you specify.

Once you have determined you backup media, and application, all that is left is to determine what to backup. Think about all your personal data, e-mail information, pictures, videos, documents, and then select those files to be backed up. If you are unsure of a document, back it up anyway as it is better to backup too much than not enough. It is also important to always make multiple backups of the same file. This way if one file was to become corrupt for some reason, you can always restore the file from the second copy.

It is very easy to backup your files as it isn’t expensive and has become relatively easy with the many applications available to you. The minor expense will seem like a good investment if you ever lost your data for any reason.

Dave Thomas has extensive experience in computer data backup solutions and provides tips on data backup solutions that would work for you.

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What An External Service Provider Can Do For You And Your Company.

October 4th, 2009
by Darryl Eady

It’s difficult to establish a niche within the External Service Provider (ESP) industry with competition on the rise among ESPs. Having an excellent plan and a keen sense of market needs and what the competition is doing is essential for a good data center company to have a chance.

Within this tight market you have competitor specialties that range from data center outsourcing to enterprise application outsourcing. Listed below are a few others.

Manufacturers of traditional equipment such as IBM and HP

Software development companies such as Oracle and Microsoft

System integrators such as CSC, SAIC, and Northrop Grumman

Dotcoms such as Google and Amazon

Telecommunications firms such as AT&T and Verizon

Many customers that are in the market for an ESP have mixed feelings towards larger ESP companies. Although they feel the large ESP companies may have well established practices and could provide better service; they don’t feel as though they will receive the needed support because of there company size. In comparison with some of the competition listed above there are some innovative data management companies who have found their niche in tailoring to the needs of the customer. They have not ignored the little guy, yet they have unique accommodations to compete with larger data management companies.

An emerging development in the ITO landscape is the practice of multi-sourcing or using several ESPs simultaneously. Rather than settle for the one size-fit-all approach offered by most large vendors, customers that multi-source are able to choose any combination of services or ESPs that best suit their needs. “Megadeals” are often the most common option of integrated outsourcing solutions; however, many organizations are now opting to sign a series of smaller deals with multiple ESPs. While his approach requires more management oversight by the customer, it offers the benefit of enlisting the services of “best-of-breed” ESPs.

Customers looking to effectively use resources may benefit from a large array of ESPs to choose from. A growing number of organizations are choosing out-tasking, or selectively outsourcing specific functions, over a pure outsourcing model. Outsourcing would permit data center management to perform all tasks, with full operational responsibility and ownership of the assets. Alternatively out-tasking allows an innovative data management center to perform partial infrastructure management functions, while the customer retains overall control and ownership of their equipment and applications.

The growing assortment of selective out-tasking services means today’s buyers can evaluate the business benefits of various outsourcing alternatives. This no longer becomes an “either/or” proposal, for the client to realize meaningful returns. The criteria for selection will include availability of personnel, current data center infrastructure and efficiency, investment and future upgrade requirements.

Some obvious differences maybe cost, unique service offerings, and advanced technology. With the market competition as tough as it is, an innovative data management company has to stand out from the crowd. If a company is able to offer all three they will probably be quite competitive with the competition.

A few more items in addition to the aforementioned list of benefits could be: An innovative data management company that could offer proactive technology upgrades, a feature-rich infrastructure, and flexibility to execute changes such as upgrading bandwidth, adding new connections, and deploying new hardware in a fraction of the time it takes the competition to do so. How would this company stack up against the competition?

About the Author:
Looking to find the best deal on ESP products , then visit www.consort.us.com to find the best advice on ESP’s for you.

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Hard Drive Data Recovery – What Drives Up The Costs?

September 29th, 2009
by Travis Van Slooten

Almost everyone has had to deal with a hard drive failure and most of those people have had experience with hard drive data recovery. A hard drive failing is one of the worst things any computer user can experience. Until, that is, they see what it can cost to recover their data. Depending on the damage done to the drive, the cost can be hundreds to thousands of dollars. Just for a single drive. But there is a reason this process is so expensive. It is not simply because computer people get paid a huge hourly rate. What is required to restore the data on a hard drive is extremely intensive.

The first thing that data recovery specialists try to pinpoint is the extent of the damage to the drive. If the computer was attacked by a virus or if the cause of the data loss was due to malfunctioning software, hard drive data recovery is not as tough as when the hard disk undergoes mechanical failure. In the case of a virus attack or a software problem, the computer’s operating system is no longer able to identify the corrupted data. A professional is needed first to separate the data down to its binary form and then to bring it back to a format readable to the OS. The process is less complicated than if the damage was due to mechanical failure.

A computer has only two moving parts – the fans, and the hard drive, which is a major component. Because of its sensitive nature, the hard drive breaking down is not an uncommon occurrence, and when it does, finding a replacement is not easy. First, there’s the matter of finding a part that matches exactly. It’s not like recovery technicians have a bunch of hard drive replacements around just waiting for the next case. A replacement part must be so similarly matched to the defective one that it might as well have been made at the same factory at the same period. Pinning down that suitable replacement can take time and effort, and therefore, money.

Perhaps one of the most expensive aspects of data recovery is getting the damaged drive functional again. Corrupted data can be reconstructed at a more affordable cost but once the drive is damaged from water or heat elements, your bill could go way higher than simple data retrieval. The cost of recovering data would also be largely dependent on the drive size and the volume of data that needs to be broken down and reconstructed into legible form again.

The best thing you can do is to prevent these problems from taking place. Yes, even the sturdiest hard drive will fail after prolonged use. Nevertheless, if you back up data often, you will only need to worry about replacing the drive and not the important files.

About the Author:
If your personal files and documents are important to you, don’t take chances when it comes to computer crashes! It may cost a little for an online storage service, but compared to the expense of hard drive data recovery, you will be cutting back quite a bit.

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