How To Prepare For a Big Data Loss Scenario

Yet, just because big data is useful, doesn’t mean it's infallible. From time to time, whether it's due to a human mistake or a crisis event, we lose access to our data. Without insights into customers, buying information, or the ability to process new information, we’re left in the dark. This can be disastrous for companies, with the average small business losing between $18,120 and $35,000 from a single small data loss event.

That’s not even mentioning larger hacks or major data crisis events. To make sure you’re prepared for the worst, businesses need to get ready ahead of the event, using a range of big data disaster recovery strategies to help them weather the storm. In this article, we’ll touch on the leading methods that you should be using.

If you’re not already protecting your data, be sure to start the following practices:

● On-site and Off-Site Backups

● Coherent Crisis Playbook to Follow

● Create Backup Data Storage Locations

Let’s dive into these strategies.

On-site and Off-site Backups

Without a doubt, backups are the most important element of any data security protocol. No matter what other strategies you have in place, if you’re not using backups, you will be actively putting your company at risk.

We’re not talking about one or two backups here, we mean you should have a variety of them in a range of different places. At the very least, you should attempt to have on-site data backups and off-site data backups:

● On-site Backups - When disaster strikes, you want to make sure that you still have access to the data that keeps your business running smoothly. An on-site backup will ensure that your company can still get local access to the files they need, helping you to get back on track if your other sources go down.

● Off-site Backups - Off-site backs are stored in a remote location, far away from your actual headquarters. If your main site is targeted by a cyberattack, or maybe if you suffer a massive electricity outage and don’t have backup generators, this off-site hub will serve as your safe haven. While on-site storage is normally very safe, that doesn’t mean that a natural event couldn’t occur that jeopardizes your site. Make sure to have a remote location where you store additional data.

The main reason behind needing so many backups is that you want to always have a second option. While it’s unlikely, you could have two systems that fail on you at the same time. If you have three different backup sites, that now means that you’re covered even in the most extreme circumstances.

People often have at least three backups of their most important functional company data.

Coherent Crisis Playbook to Follow

In times of crisis, even the best of us get a little bit on edge. This state of being overly alert or worried can lead to us making some poor decisions. Especially when it comes to something as important as getting our data infrastructure back online, we cannot afford to take any risks with bad decisions.

That’s where a crisis playbook comes in. Before you’re ever in a data event situation, you should carefully plan the exact steps that you’ll take during the event. This plan will logically move through different scenarios and explain to your team what they should do if it were to occur.

By having this document, you’ll have a carefully-organized voice of reason to follow during a crisis. Instead of panicking, your crisis playbook will allow your team to act immediately, moving through the outlined steps that you’ve created to get your business back up and running as quickly as possible.

Of course, every situation is different, but your guide should give you enough overhead to make the right decision in a moment of pressure.

Create Backup Data Storage Locations

When your data architecture goes out, most of the time, you’re unable to continue to capture new data. Depending on your industry, this continual flow of information could be vital to what you offer your customers. If that’s the case, you want to make sure that you have backup architecture in place that can help you capture new data, even if all your current systems are offline.

Having a backup storage location that can step in and collect this flow of information is vital for ongoing success. While it could day a few days or even weeks to recover from a data event, you don’t want to disable your company’s ability to continue being productive during this period.

Data protection is all about minimization, with strategies like these allowing you to continue as if nothing were wrong while you quickly act to get your data architecture back online. These additional storage locations can come in many different formats, depending on what your business currently uses.

Often, if your business turns to cloud solutions, you’ll be able to rapidly find locations for storage. If we read through a comparison between specialized analytics databases, like Druid vs Pinot, instantly we’re alerted to the flexibility of these systems to accept data. By using one of these, we can create a remote, cloud storage that can be used as a final salvation.

If you’re already working with a different cloud service, be sure to inquire about creating a further backup of your products.

Final Thoughts

No one wants to end up in a data disaster event. But, it’s more than likely that this will occur at some point in your company’s history. Even if you think that there’s only a remote chance of this happening, you should still prepare. If an event does occur and you’re prepared, you can quickly minimize the damages and get your organization back up and running in no time.

If you’re not prepared, you can expect huge losses for your business, impacting customer trust in you and reducing revenue considerably. And, that’s not even mentioning the fact that 60% of small businesses that experience a data loss will close within six months of the event.

It’s always a good idea to place yourself on the side of caution. Follow the tips that we’ve outlined in this article, and you’ll be well on your way to ensuring the complete safety of your data.

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