Bad Weather Brewing
Hurricane Isaac made landfall this week, not once but twice so far. While the storm is expected to weaken, damage is expected to continue as the storm could travel up the Mississippi River valley and beyond, as far as Illinois and Indiana. These types of weather conditions bring with them floods, wind damage, and power loss and surges.
In fact, as of 4 o'clock Wednesday morning, Entergy New Orleans reported that more than 400,000 businesses and homes were without electricity.
Adverse weather conditions are part of life. In 2012, wildfires, drought, floods, hurricanes and tornados not only changed the physical landscape, they affected the digital landscape of many companies as well.
Storms and other natural disasters destroy hundreds-of-thousands of important files and documents each year. In many cases, data can only be retrieved by a data recovery service.
Unfortunately, many small- to mid-sized businesses are ill-equipped to handle data emergencies. Along with emergency survival kits, planned evacuation routes and meeting locations, every business should prepare for data protection and recovery. Hundreds of companies go out of business each year because they were not prepared for a data disaster.
Furthermore, natural disasters are just one cause of data loss, perhaps the least likely. However, since adverse weather appears to be more ominous, many don't consider the need for hard disk data recovery until a storm hits.
Planning for a data disaster is a two-step process. The first step is data protection, followed by the second step, data recovery plans.
Physical protection of computer equipment can be accomplished by using a backup power supply and electrical surge suppression systems. An uninterruptible power supply, called a UPS, supplies power to the computer using rechargeable batteries.
Generators are another option, albeit more expensive. In both systems the emergency supply kicks in when power is lost. Additionally, they usually provide protections from power surges.
While an effective data backup plan should be a given, far more businesses don't have a plan than those that do implement one. Data backup is one of the surest means of file protection. A good routine is not expensive, nor is it difficult to implement.
For enhanced backup protection, data redundancy can be used. Storing backup sets in multiple locations ensures that if one fails, another will be intact. For example, if the data backup is stored locally it is subject to some of the same adverse conditions as the computer it protects. An additional, online location can be employed.
A hard disk data recovery service can often retrieve files when all else fails. However, the user should contact them before disaster strikes. Just like the fire and police departments, a reputable recovery service should be a part of every business's disaster team.
In fact, as of 4 o'clock Wednesday morning, Entergy New Orleans reported that more than 400,000 businesses and homes were without electricity.
Adverse weather conditions are part of life. In 2012, wildfires, drought, floods, hurricanes and tornados not only changed the physical landscape, they affected the digital landscape of many companies as well.
Storms and other natural disasters destroy hundreds-of-thousands of important files and documents each year. In many cases, data can only be retrieved by a data recovery service.
Unfortunately, many small- to mid-sized businesses are ill-equipped to handle data emergencies. Along with emergency survival kits, planned evacuation routes and meeting locations, every business should prepare for data protection and recovery. Hundreds of companies go out of business each year because they were not prepared for a data disaster.
Furthermore, natural disasters are just one cause of data loss, perhaps the least likely. However, since adverse weather appears to be more ominous, many don't consider the need for hard disk data recovery until a storm hits.
Planning for a data disaster is a two-step process. The first step is data protection, followed by the second step, data recovery plans.
Physical protection of computer equipment can be accomplished by using a backup power supply and electrical surge suppression systems. An uninterruptible power supply, called a UPS, supplies power to the computer using rechargeable batteries.
Generators are another option, albeit more expensive. In both systems the emergency supply kicks in when power is lost. Additionally, they usually provide protections from power surges.
While an effective data backup plan should be a given, far more businesses don't have a plan than those that do implement one. Data backup is one of the surest means of file protection. A good routine is not expensive, nor is it difficult to implement.
For enhanced backup protection, data redundancy can be used. Storing backup sets in multiple locations ensures that if one fails, another will be intact. For example, if the data backup is stored locally it is subject to some of the same adverse conditions as the computer it protects. An additional, online location can be employed.
A hard disk data recovery service can often retrieve files when all else fails. However, the user should contact them before disaster strikes. Just like the fire and police departments, a reputable recovery service should be a part of every business's disaster team.