Data protection is the process of protecting critical information from corruption, compromises, or loss. This includes backing it up on different media so you’ll have access to it, in case of disaster or loss, whether from desktops/laptops servers, etc. The traditional approaches used for data protection and data backup were tapes & disks but now we have cloud-based data backup solutions too!
The Data Protection team has many different responsibilities. They make sure that your data is backed up on secondary devices in case of disaster or loss, they keep records about what was done with each backup copy made per client so there are no discrepancies between multiple versions if one gets corrupted while trying to restore from it later- this way you always know how old certain pieces may actually be!
Why is Data Protection important?
Data Protection is important to protect your data to keep it safe from different forms of threats. The threat of physical hardware failure and infrastructure issues has been there forever. Accidental deletion of data and malicious intent of the user should also not be ignored.
The bigger threat nowadays is from malware, ransomware attackers & hackers. They are targeting organizations with the intention of stealing valuable information like credit card details, bank account credentials, etc. They encrypt your data and demand ransom for decrypting the same. In many cases, even paying ransom does not help.
Loss of data & delays in rebuilding the same both brings huge losses to your business. Unplanned application downtime has a direct revenue loss.
So, there are a few key things to bear in mind when it comes to data protection:
Tips for Data Protection
– Ensuring you have a robust backup and disaster recovery plan in place is essential. This should cover all your critical data, including any databases, applications, and systems.
– Make sure that your backups are tested regularly to ensure they are working as expected and that you can actually restore them in the event of a disaster.
– Encrypting your backups is a good idea to protect them from unauthorized access, especially if they are stored off-site or in the cloud.
– Keeping your data well organized and tidy will also make it easier to protect and manage. This includes having a good naming convention for files and folders and using appropriate permissions to control access.
Following these simple tips will help ensure that your data is well protected and you can sleep soundly at night knowing that you have a plan in place should the worst happen!
How to build your data protection strategy?
Without a strong data protection strategy in place, your company’s intellectual property and customer information can be at risk. The first step to building this type of plan for yourself or others within the business is understanding how you’re using certain types of electronic records.
Classify your data by determining its sensitivity and applying the appropriate protection measures. You need to understand various aspects like frequency of updates, recovery point objective (RPO) & duration time frame for restoring operations after a disaster or attack on system resources has occurred.
It is essential that you analyze your risks before they become costly mistakes!
There are many ways to protect your data, but you must first understand its sensitivity. To do this, you can classify your data by determining its:
–Confidentiality: Is the information private or restricted?
–Integrity: Is the information accurate and complete?
–Availability: Can authorized users access the information when they need it?
Once you know how sensitive your data is, you can apply the appropriate data protection measures. For example, if your data is highly confidential, you may need to encrypt it or limit its access to only a few authorized users. If integrity is a concern, you might create backups & use digital signatures. And if availability is an issue, you might store your data/backups in multiple locations or use redundancy.
Let us consider a few examples of data types commonly in use in any organization:
The first thing to consider is how often you need your data backed up and whether the limited amount of records being stored on file servers makes this type of backup sufficient. If not, then it’s important that we find ways for organizations like hospitals or law firms with large amounts of patient scans at stake, to maintain continuous data protection against ransomware infections through proactive strategies such as automated data archiving procedures which continuously store information already collected into databases rather than processing daily updates once every hour – even if there isn’t any new input coming in!
Online databases: Not all of them hold very critical records or get updated in real-time. For example, an HR application with an attendance and payroll database might only be refreshed once per day for staff members’ arrivals in addition to monthly updates on their paychecks–compared to other types that could go months without any changes at all!
Comparing it with ERP & online applications where you don’t know who is updating the data and from where so a slight data loss could be a huge business loss.
It’s important to have a plan in place for when things go wrong. This includes having copies of your critical databases remotely replicated so that they can be accessed quickly and with minimal data loss during an emergency situation, like natural disasters or something else unexpected happening at headquarters where you don’t expect it!
Online replication with zero time lag is a must in this case. Data gets updated locally and remotely at the same time so in the event of a disaster you can point to the replicated copy with minimum or zero data loss.
How does Data Protection work?
Backups have been an integral part of any company’s IT infrastructure for ages, but the technology has evolved significantly over time. External tape drives became faster and more reliable as they were improved upon by generations; eventually being replaced with faster disks that complemented RAID protection while also introducing deduplication in backups through Virtual Tape Libraries (VTLs).
These innovations led to smoother migration away from traditional media after it was discovered how much easier transporting data could be when done virtually instead-which is what happens during replications -drastically reducing transport costs per GB compared to tape.
In the modern world now, cloud backups are the way to go. Deploy agents in your Data Centre that can process your data in an automated way and let them move on the wire to a remote service provider vault. No physical drives, no tape movement, and no costly backup hardware in-house to manage data protection for the entire Data Centre, mobile workforce as well as SaaS applications.
There are several advantages to using a cloud backup service for your data protection needs.
- First of all, it’s much cheaper than buying and maintaining your off-site storage solution.
- Secondly, it’s completely automated – you don’t have to remember to back up your files, it happens automatically.
- Finally, it’s much more reliable than relying on human beings to remember to back up their data.
Read: Why is Enterprise Data Protection Important for Businesses in 2024?
With remote cloud backup services, you’re protected from ransomware threats and malware because they get stored on a segregated network. Make sure to look for providers who provide these key features:
Key Features to Look in Cloud Backup Service Provider
- Deduplication: Only unique data is backed up every time.
- Encryption: Key your data safe and secure.
- Local copy: Maintain local copies for faster recoveries.
- Compatibility with all major databases and applications.
- Scalability: Capability to automatically grow in capacity.
- Compliance: Follows strict compliance regulations and adheres to major global compliance standards, especially the standards that your industry follows.
- Cloud Managed Services Providers: Complete management of your backup infrastructure and service.
The importance of a disaster recovery site cannot be overstated. In case your primary Data Centre fails, you will have immediate access to all the databases through replicated copies that are stored securely offsite in another location ready for use should something happen at headquarters. This also applies when one server goes down while logged into remote queries which automatically moves them onto standby hardware so they can continue working without interruption.
It doesn’t matter how large an organization becomes – whether having multiple DCs running simultaneously or a standalone server, build a disaster recovery site based on the criticality of your environment.
Cloud Service Providers offer disaster recovery as a service. You don’t need to build your own remote infrastructure because they’ll replicate applications and databases for you, paying only when you’re using it!
The various models include paying based on how much information needs replicated at any given time (a bit like renting versus buying) or investing in a complete upfront investment with no additional costs associated beyond those incurred during usage; there’s really one that suits everyone so make sure think about what kind will work best before committing – do I want more flexibility than a certain service can offer? How much of an upfront investment am I willing to make?
Additionally, it’s important to consider what exactly needs to be recovered in the event of a disaster. Not everything may need to be replicated, so it’s worth thinking about what’s most important to your business and what can be sacrificed if needed.
For example, if you’re a small business with limited resources, replicating your entire server infrastructure may not be possible or necessary – perhaps only replicating key applications and data would suffice.
Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is a great way to protect your business in the event of a disaster, but it’s important to do your research and choose the right provider and plan for your needs. With a little planning, you can ensure that your business is prepared for anything!
Modern data protection strategy is more than just RPO & RTO. The compliance requirements for your organization and industry will also impact how you protect company secrets, which in turn should be taken into consideration by auditors or other stakeholders that need information about these plans with their input needed before implementation can begin
A compliance role includes ensuring the accuracy/integrity of records; protecting against unauthorized access (\”corruption\”) through technological means such as encryption software programs; and making sure there is a clear process for handling customer requests to access data or have it removed.
In this article, we looked at how to make data protection work for your organization. The key takeaway message is that you should have an effective plan in place before finalizing any decisions about what type or amount of information needs protection most urgently – because there are many factors that can affect these choices!
Whether you are an individual, a small organization, or one of the larger companies in this world – it’s important that your data protection needs be met. A well-thought-out strategy can help prevent costly mistakes from happening and will provide peace knowing how much control over personal information has been won back by having professionals handle things.
