Anyone who has suffered the frustration of losing data due to computer error understands the importance of multiple backup solutions. ICC recommends maintaining at least three copies of data, two of which are local – on different devices – and at least one copy offsite.

The more backups you have, the lower the risk of losing data. ICC uses several technologies to make multiple copies of critical server files:

1. One technology we use is RAID redundancy of data hard drives. RAID is either duplicated or “striped,” where one or more drives can fail and not lose any data.

2. Server shadow copies are also useful for backing up data. They make multiple copies of recent files for a fast “point-in-time” recovery.

3. It is important to back up data every night. One method is onsite full “image” backups of server and data, which are replicated to multiple drives and are then rotated offsite weekly.

4. To be on the safe side, use nightly offsite backups of critical data to cloud data centers as well.

It may seem like a lot of extra work, but you can rest assured that it will be worth it in the end.

Even for personal photos and files it is important to have multiple backups. There are several cloud-based options such as Box.com and make sure you always have another copy saved to an external hard drive; external drives are encrypted (secure) in case of loss or theft, and cloud backups are encrypted while in transit and at rest in the data center.

For any questions on these or other backup solutions, contact us at (877) 463-0781.