| The loss or corruption of data such as patient | | | | critical data. The benefit of an online backup solution |
| records, accounting and financial data, employee | | | | is that it is generally cost-effective, easy to use, and |
| records, payroll, and credentialing information could | | | | automated. One downside of an online backup |
| cripple a medical practice. Smaller practices are most | | | | solution is that data can only be transferred at the |
| vulnerable to data loss since they do not have the | | | | speed of your Internet connection. Another |
| resources or technology to manage a best practice | | | | downside is that your Internet connection becomes |
| data backup solution. | | | | another point of failure in your backup solution; if you |
| "It is estimated that 60% of companies that lose | | | | lose your Internet connection, you cannot perform |
| their data shut down within 6 months." - John | | | | any immediate backup or recovery functions. To put |
| Jackson, Storage Insider. | | | | this in perspective, 1 GB of data (about 250 average |
| With today's ever changing technology, identifying | | | | MP3 songs) would take almost two hours to recover |
| the right data backup solution for your practice can | | | | over a standard T1 line provided no other resources |
| be more difficult than ever. In order to make the | | | | were using that Internet connection for any other |
| most informed decision, it is important to understand | | | | purpose such as email, web research, online |
| the strengths and weaknesses of today's backup | | | | applications, etc. |
| solutions. Below you will find summaries of the most | | | | Disk-to-Disk |
| common data backup options as well as things to | | | | With the decreased cost of hard drive space, |
| consider while determining which solution makes the | | | | disk-to-disk backup solutions have become more |
| most sense for your environment. | | | | viable in today's backup solution space. Disk-to-disk is |
| Traditional Tape Backup | | | | the most reliable, fastest, and most secure form of |
| Traditional tape backup is manual-intensive, requires | | | | data backup. Disk-to-disk solutions are typically |
| significant resources, and can be costly. Tapes need | | | | automated and are able to restore data faster than |
| to be changed daily, cataloged, and removed from | | | | any other solution in the market. The downside to |
| the premises. Tape backup units must be cleaned a | | | | disk-to-disk is that your data backup is located on |
| minimum of once per month to ensure proper | | | | your premises. If there is a disaster, your primary |
| functionality. Data restores from tape should be | | | | data as well as your backed up data is lost. |
| performed a minimum of once per quarter. Lastly, | | | | What to Think About |
| tapes should be replaced annually. The cost of a tape | | | | As with any business decision, you must weigh the |
| backup unit and tapes can add up very quickly. The | | | | cost of a solution with the benefit you will receive |
| manual labor involved makes it more likely to forget a | | | | from that solution. Questions to ask while determining |
| process. Traditional tape backup solutions require such | | | | which solution makes the most sense for you: How |
| maintenance because they have a very high failure | | | | long could you afford to be without your critical |
| rate. | | | | data? How much money does your practice lose if |
| According to Microsoft, 42% of attempted | | | | you were not able to operate for 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 |
| recoveries from tape backups in the past year have | | | | day, 1 week, etc.? How effective is your current |
| failed. In addition, Ben Matheson, group product | | | | backup strategy? What is your operational backup |
| manager for Microsoft Data Protection Manager, said, | | | | strategy? What is your financial backup strategy? |
| "More than 50 percent of customers we've surveyed | | | | How would your cash flow be affected if your data |
| said their current backup solutions do not fill their | | | | were lost or unavailable for a period of time? How |
| needs." | | | | long can you operate without a steady cash flow? |
| Online Backup | | | | In the end, a data backup solution is very much like |
| An online backup solution provides a location in | | | | an insurance policy. It is hard to appreciate or justify |
| cyberspace where you can securely backup your | | | | it until you actually need it. |