Think your data’s safe? Not if you’re missing these 7 backup essentials

1. Defined goals and objectives

First and foremost, you need to define the point of your data backup plan. That includes identifying the critical data to backup, how frequently you might need to access the data, and where you intend to store your backups. You’ll also want to allocate a budget to your data backup plan for buying things like external drives, or to subscribe to a cloud service.

2. The right storage option

Choosing the right storage option can play a crucial role in how effective your data backup plan is. From cloud storage to external drives, there are a few different options to consider. For the best results I recommend a combination of cloud and physical backup options so that if you lose one, another is easily retrievable. Here are the benefits of the main types of backup media:

• Local disks and external drives: Great for quick backups of small amounts of data.
• Network Attached Storage (NAS): Provides a centralized option for backing up large amounts of data.
• Cloud based solutions: Cost-effective offsite solution, but completely dependent on the internet.

Further reading: The best external drives: Top picks in portable storage

3. A wide scope for your data

You should include a wide scope in your data backup plan. By that I mean you’ll want to identify all the locations you have data to back up from in all your devices, from your PC to your phone.

By extending the scope of the data to include, say, your emails as well as your PC files and your photos, you’ll have a wider base for recovery if the worst happens and you lose everything.

4. A regular schedule for backup

You should ensure you implement a regular schedule for backup, so every day or every week, or even real-time. That means, if you do lose data at any point, your backup will have up-to-date versions for you to retrieve. Then all you need to do is stick to the schedule.

You’ll also want to implement a system of administration that lets you track the backup jobs so that you have a record of when your latest backup was and what data was backed up.

Further reading: The best Windows backup software

5. Automation

Backing up everything yourself can be laborious and be challenging to stick to a regular schedule. Instead, you’re going to want to automate as much of it as possible.

Many cloud services/backup programs and even external drives run software that can automate the process for you. For example, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB External Hard Drive can be set to automatically back up using the drive’s Time Machine software.

Further reading: Best online backup: iDrive, Backblaze, Livedrive, and more

6. Encryption

Encrypting your data ensures that if it falls into unauthorized hands, it’s unintelligible or restricted. Use well tested algorithms to encrypt sensitive information and make sure the encryption keys are stored separately from the backups to enhance security.

Pexels: Tara Winstead

7. Regular testing and versioning

Your data should be partially or fully restored regularly to ensure recovery can be effective in the event of data loss. You should also evaluate your plan as a whole and ask yourself, “If I were to lose all my original data today, would I be able to restore it?”

Some services/backup programs also have versioning, which means several versions of your data is saved in different locations. That way if one is corrupted, another version will be available to download at a moment’s notice.