Storing Data Safely and Effectively

Posted on Jun 19 2015 - 5:45am by Editor

Every modern business needs to store data; it’s an essential part of owning a business. But not every business manages to do it safely and effectively. Here’s how to make sure you are storing data the right way.

digital

External Hard Drives

Storing data on a computer is quite risky. This is because computers are located in one place and, therefore, can’t be kept very safe. External hard drives can have data stored on them and then kept somewhere safe, making them a good option for data storage in many businesses, large and small.

I’d recommend keeping your external hard drives offsite so that they don’t get damaged in an accident. You could keep them in safe storage or even at your home. Keeping them on the business premises is risky because if there is a fire or other incident, the hard drives would be destroyed alongside the original data files.

Online

In the last few years, cloud-based storage has become mainstream. So, it’s definitely an option to consider if you need to store a lot of data. One of the big advantages of using the cloud is that you don’t require any physical storage systems, so the data is kept safe from any potential physical damage.

This means data storage systems can’t be stolen physically, destroyed in a fire or suffer as a result of other disasters. It also means you’ll be able to access all that data whenever you want and wherever you are in the world thanks to smart mobile devices. Such access is impossible if you use other storage methods.

Backup

Data that isn’t backed up is at great risk. There are all sorts of things that can go wrong, but the results are always the same: the loss or corruption of vital data. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, you need to backup that data regularly, it’s an essential practice for every modern business.

Backing up means that your data will be secured if there’s a breakdown of your original storage systems or a natural disaster that damages your storage hardware. How you backup and archive your data is up to you, and there are thousands of ways you can do it. You might want to use hard drives or discs if you have less data to deal with.

Security

When looking at your data security, you should think about which data is sensitive and which isn’t. You don’t need to worry as much about data that isn’t sensitive or confidential. But the data that is sensitive, which might include customer details and data, should be encrypted so that it can’t be hacked into by criminals.

To make sure that your database systems are even more secure, you could use an in memory database. Companies that provide these services allow you to run your database effectively and smoothly while making sure that your data is always secure too. So, it’s an option you should definitely consider.

Modern businesses can’t afford not to pay attention to the data they use and store every day. So, make sure you use this guide and take care of your data!