BLOG: This Holiday, Think Backup

The holidays are upon us, and even though we are rushing around during these times, it is important to make sure we don’t forget the essential routine of backing up our electronics.

If you are like most people that have multiple devices (i.e., smartphones, iPads, laptops, PCs, etc.), remember that Murphy (you know him) can strike at any time, and usually it is at the worst of times.

Having been in the computer industry for a number of years, backing up is crucial for our customers’ servers. But nowadays, most of us have so much of our lives captured in our devices that a loss could be irreplaceable.  

Here are some key steps to make the data backup process one of your routines: 

• List all of the devices you have. Where is the data being stored (i.e., hard drive or memory card)?
• Backup what is critical every day. If you can't live without it, you need to back it up. 
• What is your threshold of pain? How long can you be down? I know it is hard to backup during certain times of the day, but you have to do it. The first backup is usually the longest, and thereafter, modified files can be backed up.
• If using Microsoft Outlook that is not hosted on a corporate server, you might lose critical emails if you do not backup regularly.
• Check your backup program and its logs to make sure that files are not skipped and that everything is running properly.

Several cloud-based backup solutions are now available online. Depending on the device, operating system and budget, you should be able to find a good solution that fits your needs. Just be sure to check your settings and verify that critical data is being backed up. If you need assistance choosing the correct solution, contact a local computer networking service provider.

Do yourself a favor – research and talk to technical support prior to performing a data restore. Make sure you understand the process of a restore so that you are comfortable doing it in the event of a hard drive failure or loss of data.

Now for some sage holiday advice: backup today!