Today a company’s ability to restore or recover data following a disruption is based upon the data backup process being used. Therefore, companies of all sizes can no longer treat backup and recovery as separate processes. As the volume of data in companies continues to increase dramatically, so does its importance and value. Data is now estimated to constitute 80% of companies’ assets. The traditional approach to protecting that data is to back it up to tape, keep a copy off site, then recall that tape to perform operational data restores, or send it to a recovery site for tests or disaster declarations. That traditional process no longer supports today’s 21st Century business requirements, for data security, compliance, restore or recovery speed. Using a services provider to provide one integrated electronic process for backup, restore, and recovery can deliver day-to-day operational efficiency, help support data centric regulatory compliance, and enhance a company’s business continuity posture.
Action Item: Examine your backup process and ensure it supports your end-to-end data protection requirements in terms of your ability to access, restore, and recover data. Thinking about backup and recovery as a single umbrella process (rather than distinct activities owned by different parts of the business) will reduce inefficiencies and speed productivity of data restoration at the most critical time - when there's a problem.
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