DR and BC Key Drivers for Backup

Backup My Info!, Inc. (BUMI), provider of managed online backup and recovery solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, announced the findings of its Q4 2010 industry survey, which established that disaster recovery and business continuity are primary reasons organizations backup their critical data.

Despite these key drivers, the survey found that only 55% of respondents are confident that their data will be restored completely within hours of a disaster.

In addition, according to the results, more than 37% of respondents believe the cost of downtime is ‘thousands of dollars per hour.’ This reinforces the need for all organizations to have a fully managed backup service in place. Survey results also revealed that online data backup (65%) is the most popular way that respondents are backing up their information, while internal appliances (34%) and tape backups (29%) are the next most common ways.

"Today, almost every business relies on a collection of critical data that is growing every day," said Jennifer Walzer, CEO at Backup My Info!, Inc. "As the amount of data residing on servers, desktops and laptops expands, businesses must think about recovery first, and then develop a strategy to ensure their most critical data is in the best position to be restored. Doing so will protect these assets, keep costs under control, and ensure a fast recovery time."

Survey Highlights:

Disaster recovery and business continuity are key drivers. Disaster recovery (89%), business continuity (73%) and security (52%) were the most common reasons to backup a company’s critical data.
Cost of downtime varies. Forty-seven percent of respondents agree that the cost of downtime is "hundreds of dollars per hour," while 37% say it costs ‘thousands of dollars per hour.’
Comparing recovery time for critical data versus non-critical data. Most organizations (40%) believe that ‘within four hours’ is an acceptable recovery window (the time it takes for your recovered data to be accessible) for critical data. However, in terms of non-critical data, the majority (42%) believe that one business day is an acceptable timeframe.
Not every organization checks the status of its backup process on a daily basis. Only 52% of respondents check their backup process on a daily basis. Fourteen percent of respondents say they check on a weekly basis, while 9% say they never check.
Technical service and support is more important than price when selecting a backup vendor. Seventy-nine percent of respondents believe that technical service and support are more important than price (60%) when selecting a backup vendor. Data security (72%) and speed of recovery (61%) also scored high as important decision criteria.
Data that is important to backup varies from organization to organization. Database files (83%) were the most important information that needs to be backed up, according to respondents. Financial data (79%), email (73%), and productivity applications (52%) also scored high. Video files (19%) were the least important data to be backed up, based on the options given.

BUMI Recommendations:

Backup your business-critical data to a secure location, and ensure that the data is properly backed up and stored offsite.
Run disaster recovery test drills on a regular basis – make certain you can recover the necessary data in the event of a disaster to the designated alternate location.
Prioritize all of your applications/systems to ensure that your recovery plan restores your most critical data first.
Document your disaster recovery plan and make sure it is accessible in case of any disaster.
Invest in an online data backup and recovery solution that includes a simple pricing structure, no additional costs for restores or support, and proactive monitoring of all data backup processes by senior level engineers.
Data backup is not a ‘set and forget’ operation – it needs to be continuously monitored by experts who know your environment and know how to restore your applications/data properly.

The survey was conducted during the fourth quarter of 2010 and is based on responses from 117 business owners, CEOs and IT professionals at small to medium sized businesses. Industries represented include financial services firms, insurance companies, technology firms, healthcare organizations and more.