System Image Backup

Any business that has suffered a data loss and survived knows the importance of a good backup strategy. Many businesses assume it will never happen and have no backup services or inadequate backup plans. Simply backing up information to discs or cloud storage from time to time is not a sufficient plan for any business. You need to be using a system image backup methodology.

What is a system image backup?
system image backup

To better understand what system image backups are, it is important to understand what file only backups are first. In file form, the backup process only copies files. If you are only restoring a few individual files this backup method works well, but if you are restoring a large part or all of a file system file only backups work poorly. Enter the image based backup. By taking a snapshot of your entire drive and the entire server: files, system settings, software and the operating system are backed up. A complete restore of the system is easily accomplished using the image method, in addition to facilitating individual file restores.

Let’s review a backup restore scenario. Your server crashes or a disaster means you can’t get to the server. The job now is to get you up as quickly as possible. With a file only backup you’re looking at 16 hours or more to get the server basically running with another 8-12 hours to fine tune the server and get all the settings back to the way it was before the crash. With an image you have multiple options. One is to get the server hardware fixed and then just restore the image to the repaired server in 2-4 hours of time. If the server is damaged beyond repair, a new server is probably not available quickly. If you are an H&D client we keep standby servers ready to be deployed in these type of situations. If your building is unihabitable then we can use the offsite backups and ‘turn on’ the offsite image and people can access the data from their home or a temporary office. It’s easy to see how far superior system image backup are over file only backups. I’ll talk more about this in the future under ‘Continuity what does it mean for your business?’.

Why Are System image backup Important?

This type of backup is essential for business continuity. Without any form of backup, a business will suffer in the event of a major data loss. For example, a company that keeps a database of important client information and is unable to reference it for customer service purposes could lose sales and clients. In today’s world, customers want immediate services and solutions, and they may see a data loss as a company’s inability to handle their needs.

The overall idea to remember is that data losses inconvenience customers and cut down on the overall productivity of the business, so monetary losses come from at least two different angles. The cost of such losses for one day could easily exceed the cost of professional backup services for an entire year .

Does My Business Need Backup Services?

Research shows that many businesses that go through a major data loss go out of business within a few years. If you value your business and want to grow it, data backup is a must. Companies wanting to grow, and expand and protect their business interests to the fullest, need professional backup services.

The best way to prevent catastrophic data losses is to hire a reliable IT solutions company. For over 20 years, H&D Technologies has been providing quality backup and IT services to midsize and small businesses.

If you own a business and are hoping to grow or maintain it, our team can help. Our team consists of industry professionals with a wide range of backgrounds, and our customer testimonials speak for themselves.

What makes our company unique is that we treat you and your unique needs with the consideration you deserve. Our professionals ask questions, take the time to learn about your business and goals and provide the best possible IT solutions for your needs.

If you have data that is valuable to your business, do not leave it at risk with inadequate backup. Trust it to professionals who know how to maintain it and protect it.

Contact us to learn how we can help you and protect your business’ future.