Data Recovery

Top Tips for Data Recovery

Recovering data is one of the most daunting tasks once it is corrupted. It is the process of restoring data when it is impossible to recover files using regular procedures. It is a crucial and efficient process in times of important data loss. This process also includes saving deleted files from storage media. It is can be a complicated process, so highly skilled data recovery technicians are recommended to help perform this procedure. They use an array of software and hardware tools to retrieve the lost data. Every company prepares themselves for such crisis management. But, it is a huge loss and no stones should be left unturned to employ the experts for conducting the process.

Let me give you some tips for data recovery. Keep reading below to know more:

Identify the need for data recovery

Data recovery is one of the most vital strategies for the survival of your business. All companies have unique data that marks their uniqueness in the market. Therefore, safeguarding data is an important task. Even when the data is lost, make sure you’re ready to face such a crisis strongly with proper provisions.

Understand the risk

Data loss can happen due to accidental deletion of files or due to failure of the site. You should always be prepared for such mishaps and should have precautions ready for managing such crisis. IT failure, electrical hardware and software failure are recognised as big threats to businesses. Natural disasters like extreme weather conditions, snow, flood and high winds have devastating consequences as well.

Understand the importance of the data

This is one of the key aspects of data recovery. Understanding theimportance of the data is very vital. If you analyse the risk beforehand you can chalk out a recovery strategy that will ensure all levels of the infrastructure of your business to be recovered in the events of disasters.

Know about the easy recovery of a file

All business houses need backup services. Traditional backup services are no longer reliable as there arelimitations in the storage facility and competency issues as well. Instead, try managed online data backup services that aid in storing of unlimited data and also provide accessibility at any point of time. And once a data is stored on the cloud or on the internet, issues of lost data seem bleak and non-existent.

Consider the impact of a server failure

This is one of the vital tips for data recovery. It’s advisable to consider the maximum time that can be utilised for recovering data. You also have to assess the impact before it becomes critical to the business operations. You should define the data recovery policy according to the criticality of the system. You should also make sure of the time that you’re willing to spend to minimise the recovery time.

Assess the ease of the recovery system

The process of several service packs, updates, re-installing and operating system and many more are time-consuming tasks. It can take hours or even days to recover data through these processes. A compatible system is required along with these lengthy processes to install and restore data. This adds more downtime and helps in the time of crisis. You should know how easily a recovery system can work for retrieving the lost data.

Know the impact of the downtime on your company

A business suffers a lot when its site is temporarily out of service or the data is lost. In such cases any kind of business, irrespective of its size,will be neck deep in problems as this incurs a heavy loss on the company. You should keep all provisions that can be used in a lesser time that will save the business from heavy damage. So, make sure you have the best way in hand for recovering the lost data.

The above-mentioned are a few tips for data recovery. The other tips like knowing the best data recovery solution for the company, the solutions suiting your network and many more are really essential. Know them well and recover the data when it gets lost. If you set up a business you’re prone to face such a crisis, so there is no need to worry at all. Just be prepared and act strongly when a disaster occurs.

Data recovery services: Their importance to small businesses in the UK

Some small businesses solutions are more indispensable than others, but data recovery services are one of the most essential services that a small business can have.

What does online backup on the cloud mean?

This is a way of setting and storing a backup of data kept on businesses’ servers or PCs offsite on what is referred to as an online or cloud-based system. The software can be installed onto the company’s servers and/or on individual users’ PCs, and it uses an internet connection to remote servers to transfer the data chosen to be backed up. These files will also have a further copy in another different location to provide an additional level of backup. The whole process is safe, encrypted and password protected. Only those who have the relevant authorisation can gain access to this material. The offsite backup system can easily be installed on all computers, and the software is compatible with all file types and major operating systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux.

Images and videos can also be duplicated, providing a business owner with a full disaster recovery solution should their data become inaccessible locally. It gives protection against deletion, loss or corruption and enables the recovery of all the files and data within a very short period of time. With one account, it is possible to personalise how and when a business wants their data to be backed up. It is fast and security-protected at the highest level, with the opportunity to create multiple settings, personalise the backup options, select the files necessary to copy, and choose when and how to restore them. Everything can be modified when needed and all communication goes by e-mail between the client and the service provider.

Why do small businesses need cloud backup for recovering data?

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) may not be fully aware of the risks of data loss and the benefits provided by an effective backup and recovery solution. Research shows that the loss or damage of data for small businesses is growing at a rapid pace, and the situation is only likely to get worse as more activities rely on technology. A small business may not have the financial resources to start afresh once data is lost or damaged or if they happen to be on the receiving end of a cyber-attack.

It is imperative to have a backup and recovery plan in place. In addition, it can be useful to employ one of the older and less reliable traditional onsite methods, such as putting the key information onto an external hard drive, tape or a USB device as a backup aswell as on the cloud. The hard drive or tape can still be damaged, lost or stolen, and a staff member always has to look after it, and one has to remember to actually initiate the process to save the data! Using the online version of data backup removes many of these risks and allows everything to be handled without human interference or interaction once it has been set up. It is very easy to use these services and this can be undertaken even by someone who does not have a high level of technical knowledge.

Here are some of the reasons to use data protection services:

It gives protection against natural disasters.
It defends against computer corruption.
It keeps the data in a safe place without the risk of unwanted people seeing it.
There is less chance for human error once the service is automated.
It enables you to restore your files and bring your business up and running within a short period of time if the system crashes, minimising the impact of lost data on your business.
You can avoid hurting your company’s reputation as a result of losing client data.
Every business, no matter how large or small, should have an effective working backup recovery strategy in place and one that is reviewed on at least an annual basis.

What is Data Recovery Software and why do you need it?

While the world becomes increasingly computer literate with every day that goes by and equipment becoming ever more sophisticated, it is still all too easy to accidentally delete valuable files and lose them forever.

Many email and basic free online storage services provided by the tech conglomerate giants, only offer 30-day data recovery periods. So if you do not quickly realise that data has been wrongly deleted, it will be too late, leaving you in a potentially very damaging position.

It can be very easy to delete a file without knowing simply by clicking the wrong button – if the data was accidentally deleted, there’s a good chance you won’t even notice it has been deleted for weeks or months.

For many businesses, schools and charities, losing files could be disastrous as they may contain commercially sensitive data or personal information about vulnerable people. Of course, for businesses particularly data losses may be financially costly, be it due to a loss of trust from customers or from losing commercially valuable information. It goes without saying, then, that the prospect of losing vital files forever is highly stressful.

While we all know we should be regularly backing up our files as a failsafe in this kind of situation, many people never get round to it.

In some cases your computer’s recycle bin may come to the rescue. However, if your PC is close to capacity and needs to free up space for newer files, it may well have made it impossible for you to recover the file without professional intervention. And the chances are that for most businesses and schools, the large amount of files you need access to means that your PCs will be pretty much always at capacity.

Professional data recovery software such as that provided by Safe Data Storage allows files to be brought back from the grave, so to speak. While deleted or corrupted files may no longer be accessible to regular users, specialist software allows remnants of the code relating to the files to be located and restored.

This can be a lifesaver for businesses, schools and charities and also provides complete piece of mind, giving you the reassurance that even should the worst happen you have a system in place to restore deleted files.

If you require data recovery software or are interested in learning more, contact us today.

Your Halloween data loss horror stories

With Halloween just around the corner, we thought it was time for scariest type of surprise there is… data loss horror stories! We asked around the internet, in forums and on social media, for your worst data losses. Here’s what we found. Lock your doors and read on…

Enough to make a grown man cry…

We all know that data losses can have just a particularly devastating effect on businesses as the amount of data involved is often much larger than with individuals’ data losses. For small, local businesses, a huge data loss can even threaten their entire business’ survival.

“Data loss was responsible for the first time I saw a grown man cry,” Twitter user Jon told us. “I was a service engineer and had to tell a small business owner that his hard drive was dead.

“He lost all his accounts data going back forever.”

Stubbornness can be costly for business – very, very costly

“I’ve seen a business owner refuse to spend any money at all on a backup solution and lose 10+ years of data,” an IT professional and tech forum moderator told us. “And I see at least one post like that a week, if not more.”

Another user on a tech forum described a ‘sphincter-tightening experience’ in which he thought he had lost years’ worth of a client’s sales data after a computer malfunction. Luckily he had a backup, and was able to restore almost all of the data, only having to manually re-enter the last few months’ worth.

Many businesses have commercially sensitive data, such as information about their customers, products, or processes, that if lost and not backed up could have devastating effects for both company and customer. A significant data loss can set a business back by several years in its development.

But it can be just as devastating for personal data

“I had a 1TB external hard drive full of all my photos and other irreplaceable stuff and it got corrupted,” a Reddit user confessed to us. “I couldn’t recover everything so I lost all of my files.”

Your personal data can contain priceless memories that don’t exist anywhere else – meaning that without a backup, once they’re gone they’re gone forever. Is it worth taking that risk?

So, what can we learn from these horror stories? One thing is clear: ensuring you have a reliable backup of your data is absolutely essential in order to avoid risking your business’ survival or your school project. No wonder that, according to a recent survey by Advanced, a software company, four out of five business owners are considering using cloud backup data storage.

Make sure you don’t join the list of victims this Halloween…get in touch today to get your data safely backed up.

The Importance of Cloud Data Backup & Storage

Why Do You Need Cloud Data Backup & Storage?

Cloud data storage is becoming more popular in all professional environments. As a nation, and in-fact a country we are producing more digital data than ever before. With this unparalleled growth it is unsustainable to continue to store data in tangible objects.

Many businesses, charities and educational institutions now utilise secure offsite data storage, becoming more efficient in the process. With an increased market shift to “the cloud”, there is a new wave of concern surrounding the security of data online. Online data security is even more relevant following the recent activation of the GDPR regulations. Find out more about GDPR and Cloud Data Storage.

UK-based Cloud Backup

You can sleep soundly at night, knowing your data is stored securely on our own servers. We own all our servers meaning your files, photos and data are not shared with any third parties or other businesses. Storage is split across our two data-centres located in London and also Bournemouth where your data is replicated and stored separately. Services are available for Single User Backup or Business Backup depending on the nature of your requirements.

Encrypted Data Storage

To increase the level of protection you receive, all stored data on servers is encrypted as standard. Data you backup with Safe Data Storage remains only yours and can only be accessed by you.

From the point of initial collection at your PC terminal or other device, data is covered by an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Following this, any connection between you and the server to access files and data is covered using a SSL 129-bit channel.

What this really means is that your data, what ever this may be, is converted into a randomised selection of numbers, letters and symbols. Without access to an encryption key, to unlock the data it remains useless and unreadable.

Backup & Restore

One of the most important features of cloud data storage and data recovery software is knowing you can avoid disastrous data loss. Across our servers files are stored in multiple isolated locations for prevention from complete data loss. Regardless of your industry or skill, no longer having the ability to access customer, sales and other forms of data could have a hugely detrimental impact on the service you are able to offer. Additionally, subsequent data loss from unsecured storage could pose significant ramifications under GDPR regulations.

It can be incredibly easy to delete the wrong file or press something you shouldn’t have. With fully backed up data you need not worry, your files can simply be restored within minutes – even for the less tech savvy among us. No loss, no wasted work, just peace of mind your data is in safe hands.

If you would like to receive more information about being able to backup on cloud systems and restore your commercial and sensitive data, or simply want to know the best service for your needs, get in touch with a member of our team.

Advantages of Cloud Backup For Business

Benefits of Cloud Backup For Business

There are numerous advantages to having cloud storage in a business over more traditional methods. We see no reason why you shouldn’t migrate towards the cloud and here are our top reasons to make the move.

Access Anywhere

With cloud data storage your data and files are remotely backed up. This gives you the ability to access your data from anywhere you have an internet connection. Whether you are travelling no a new location for a meeting or your team are spread across numerous geographic locations as is becoming more popular with a rise in the “work from home” culture.

Increase Data Security

If you choose to store your data with a specialist company you increase the level of security your data is held in. As these firms keep a large volume of data and rely on doing so, their security measures are likely to be far higher than yours internally.

At Safe Data Storage we have two off-site data storage centres in the UK, our primary storage facility on Orpington, London and a secondary facility in Bournemouth. We only use our own servers and your data is hosted in two UK ISO 27001 accredited data centres for extra security.

Scale up on Demand

When data is hosted internally it can be a struggle to upgrade or add additional storage. This is also often expensive and many companies will choose to delete things they think they need the least to save resources. By storing your data with us it is much easier, quicker and cheaper to scale up the level of storage to meet your requirements.

Disaster Recovery

In past days disasters such as fire and floods have wiped out years worth of records, files and valuable data. Once this has happened you are left having to start again. Not with cloud backup! Your business data is kept in off-site storage, all you have to do is restore to your last backup. This greatly limits the loss and means you can continue as normal.

This is also true for accidentally deleting files. We have all been in a situation where we deleted something we shouldn’t have by mistake. While previously this could have a huge effect on numerous people and tasks, no longer. Restore the file, or data and carry on as if it never happened.

If you have any questions about how to transfer your business to cloud storage or questions on how it will benefit you, get in touch with a member of our team who will be happy to help with any queries you have.

Category Archives: Data Recovery