How protected is your Business or organisation from a disastrous loss of Data?

Jan. 5, 2009 - PRLog -- The chances are that you’ll feel confident that your back up systems will keep you well protected.

Many business people in Wales seem to think that way. But many are mistaken and at risk from serious IT failures that could cost them dear.

For even if they have back-up systems in place, most will not be able to prevent a significant loss of data or system configurations that are vital to the running of the business should their network server fail due to a fault, virus, or sabotage.

Circle IT surveyed 51 Welsh companies and public sector organisations in recent months. We found that although all reported they had back-ups, more than two-thirds are vulnerable to data loss, despite thinking that they are in the clear.

Back-up arrangements in many organisations are usually a tape in an on-site machine that records the content of a server’s hard disk at the end of the day or overnight. Some reported that they backed up weekly, or even just sporadically. In nearly every case the back-up system was inadequate, as it would result in data and vital systems’ information being lost.

For example, if an SME with 50 employed people had a serious system failure in an afternoon, all that morning’s work by those staff could be irretrievable. In a busy office that’s a major inconvenience that could also add up to weeks of lost work and impact on customer service.

But just as important is that the company would lose the programs and configurations that it had built up to suit its needs. It would take a long time to rebuild. If the modified systems took weeks to install, then restoring them could take just as long. And 63 per cent of organisations said that being out of action for a week would seriously impact on operations and lose them customers.

And if there was an incident such as a fire and there was no off-site back-up then the impact would be truly disastrous – as only one in 10 organisations have this facility. It could even put the existence of a business at risk.

So the two essential requirements to avoiding disastrous data loss are off-site back-ups for replication of servers and key business systems, and a continuous data recording system that copies everything on a second-by-second basis throughout the day.

Following our survey we launched our business continuity managed service, which is the only one of its kind offered in Wales. It overcomes these IT-related business risks by remotely recording server activity continuously around the clock. In the event of a failure or virus attack we can restore the system and configurations to as it was just one second before the failure. The client would very quickly be up and running again with exactly the same data and program settings.

The technology isn’t new, but our breakthrough is in bringing down the cost of such a recovery service to make it affordable for even small SME’s. It’s a small investment, but one that can save a business.

We have bought all the relevant software licences and, by making the service widely available, our clients can benefit by economies of scale and low costs.

Our survey highlighted a number of critical business issues that all managers should consider to help ensure business continuity.

We have made the findings available to clients and already several organisations have signed up for much more secure disaster recovery arrangements.

What the Survey said:

Key Findings of Circle IT’s Survey of Welsh Organisations:
•   Has a disaster recovery policy – 27.5%
•   Has access to off-site data back-ups – 33.7 %
•   Has off-site replication of servers and key business systems – 11.6%
•   Has contingency for alternative premises – 15.8%
•   Has facility for remote access to key business applications – 10.5%
•   Week-long IT downtime would have major impact on business – 62.75%

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Circle IT is a team of skilled professionals offering IT support and solutions for businesses across the UK. Circle IT helps businesses to stay ahead with tailored packages of IT support that fit exactly with existing resources.