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think we’ve been here before in one guise or another, however this is a perennial issue that I like to keep in the minds of all my clients. Businesses and individuals use IT to quickly and effectively process information. We use electronic mail and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone systems to communicate. Electronic data interchange is used to transmit data, whether that be orders and payments from one company to another or ordering a tin of beans from Tesco online. Servers process the information and store large amounts of data; desktop computers, laptops and wireless devices are used to create, process, manage and communicate information. So, what are you going to do when your IT stops working? Most small businesses and individuals can cope with an interruption such as a power cut or internet failure for a short while; it’s inconvenient but it’s not usually life-changing. Bigger businesses, however, should have a disaster recovery plan as their whole business could stop operating. Imagine a supermarket without power; it would have to close because it could not operate. Furthermore, all its perishable stock would be lost, although I’m sure they have insurance for that. Happily, once the power is restored, life goes on. What would you do if your server died a nasty death, or your mobile was accidentally flushed somewhere it wasn’t designed to go? Much of your data is important; some of it is vital to the survival and continued operation of your business. The impact of data loss or corruption from hardware failure, human error, hacking or malware could be significant, so a plan for data 116 | Sherborne Times | December 2019
backup and restoration is essential. In planning your recovery strategy, you should consider the loss of one or more of the following system components if it applies to you: • Servers (secure location, backup power supply, etc.) • Hardware (networks, desktop and laptop computers, wireless devices and peripherals) • Connectivity to a service provider (fibre, cable, wireless, etc.) • Software applications (internet, e-mail, resource management, office productivity, etc.) • Data and restoration (backup!) My plan focuses on data restoration as all the others can be ordered for next-day delivery - or I could connect to my neighbour with a long bit of cable. All of my data (personal and business) is backed-up daily to a cloudbased system for which I pay an annual fee, and my email system is cloud-based. If everything failed or got burned to the ground, I’d just buy a new PC, install my programs, download my data and connect to my email. Yes, it would be a faff. Yes, it would be inconvenient. Yes, it would cost me time and money. But would I lose anything? No! However modest your needs, you should have a plan! The choice as always, is yours, but if you need advice, you know where to come. Coming Up Next Month: Usernames and Passwords that old chestnut! computing-mp.co.uk