It is well known that the majority of businesses are aware of the importance of backing up their data regularly. Data storage policies can arguably be one of the most significant aspects of ensuring that a business is not only protected against ransomware. IT infrastructure can also prevent loss of data even in the case of a single hardware failure.
There is a problem with simply having multiple copies of data because that is not always enough to guarantee data security. If they are both stored on the same server, the possibility exists that both files might be deleted in the case of one incident.
The 3-2-1 backup strategy is one of the most effective ways to protect critical files, which can be followed by anyone. Why should you care about it and what are the benefits it can provide for your business?
What Is the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?
The 3-2-1 backup strategy is a method of storing data that consists of three files and two folders. There is a system designed to protect data in the event of a security breach or certain natural disasters which may cause data loss. A 3-2-1 strategy recommends storing three copies of your data. Ideally, two of them should be stored in different types of storage. One copy should be kept off-site so that you retain a copy of your data if anything goes wrong.
Consequently, it is much more difficult for a single event to cause data loss due to large outbreaks of malicious software. Below you will find a step-by-step guide on how each of these steps should be carried out.
Make sure you have three copies of your data as three copies are considered necessary to ensure that your data can always be recovered in case something goes wrong. Generally, one primary copy should be kept which is easy to access, and two backup copies should be kept which can be used to serve as backups. This means that there are three copies in total.
Make use of two different storage devices
When all of your data is stored on the same type of storage device, it makes it more likely that all of your devices will be unable to run at the same time if one of them fails. There are several ways to reduce the likelihood of this, one of which is to store data in at least two different kinds of storage. There are various storage types available in the market, including hard drives, network-attached storage, tape drives, and cloud storage.
Make sure you keep a copy off-site as well
Whether you have multiple copies of all your data or not, if all of your data is stored in the same location, then a natural disaster can cause you to lose all of them, regardless of how many copies you have. A company with only one location is also more likely to be a victim of a security breach.
Make sure you keep a copy off-site as well
Whether you have multiple copies of all your data or not, if all of your data is stored in the same location, then a natural disaster can cause you to lose all of it, regardless of how many copies you have. A company with only one location is also more likely to be a victim of a security breach.
There are various storage types available in the market, including hard drives, network-attached storage, tape drives, and cloud storage.
Regardless of the size of the business, all businesses should have a backup plan
Keeping your information safe depends largely on putting a backup in place to ensure your information is safe. There are some backup strategies that, unfortunately, do not provide adequate protection against the loss of critical data. A backup alone is not enough, you also need to consider how and where you save them along with how and where you protect them from threats.
The 3-2-1 backup approach ensures that there are three copies of everything, using different storage types and locations. As a result, it is very unlikely that one incident will be able to damage all of your data in a single incident.
