Disaster Recovery Archives | Page 2 of 2

How To Prevent Your Business From Phishing, Malware, or Ransomware

November 22, 2016/0 Comments/in Disaster Recovery, Managed IT /by James Wagner

You realize that the data in your business network has been compromised.

Your IT systems are infected with malware or a hacker has gained access to your private client data.

It is every manager’s worst nightmare.

In some cases, a malevolent third party may have even locked your systems and demanded payment for you to access your hijacked data.

Should your current IT infrastructure succumb to one of these cyber attacks, there are a few things you can do to minimize the damage and return to business as quickly as possible.

This includes immediate shut down of your network and calling your managed services provider.

As with anything, however, prevention is the best solution, and addressing the possibility of a cyber attack now can help you reap huge dividends down the road.

Can you protect your business from phishing, malware, or ransomware?

While 100% security can never be guaranteed, you can take several steps to greatly reduce the risk of your business falling prey to one of these schemes.

The most important thing you can do to prevent such occurrences is to invest in IT security.

A good IT security team will know exactly what risks to look for and how to protect your network against them.

Furthermore, if a cybercriminal is successful in infiltrating your IT system, a professional IT team will have the tools and ability to shut down your network and restore it with minimal disruption to your customers.

Offsite backup is crucial

One thing an effective IT team will do is work to ensure that your sensitive data is regularly backed up offsite.

This means that if your IT system does fall victim to ransomware or other malware, you can simply load your data from the last successful backup and continue working.

The more frequently you back up your data, the less damage any malware attack will inflict.

Prevention is the best form of security

When it comes to securing your business, the importance of a professional IT team cannot be understated.

And the best time to take proactive steps to protect your business is now – before problems arise.

By taking the time to implement a comprehensive IT security plan, and by giving your IT professionals time to create an IT security protocol, you can help ensure that your business is protected tomorrow and beyond.

Download The ITeam Email Security Guide

The ITeam provides essential IT support to Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses, with fully managed and customized services designed to meet the needs of virtually any business. The ITeam will work with you to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation or schedule a network assessment today.

Do You Have a Disaster Recovery Plan In Case of a Storm?

August 10, 2015/1 Comment/in BDR, Disaster Recovery /by James Wagner

Disaster Recovery Plan In Case of a Storm There’s nothing like a freak storm knocking out power to 26,000 homes and businesses to remind you why it’s important to be prepared.

And just in case you think the recent atmospheric disturbance is a one-time thing, don’t forget the freak summer snowstorm we had just last year.

If you’re one of those unlucky Calgary businesses whose downtime cost you money, you’re not alone.

It’s estimated that downtime costs Canadian businesses more than $16B annually, and worse, more than half of all Canadian businesses have no disaster recovery plan in place.

Storms like the one that occurred in the summer of 2015 are the perfect example of why it pays to be prepared ahead of time.

For households, that means having candles, flashlights, and provisions of food and water just in case.

For businesses, it means having your data backed up to an offsite location and a disaster recovery plan in place, so that if the worst happens and you’re not able to operate your business from its normal location, you can still meet your customers’ needs.

Your Data Is Your Business

From financial records to customer accounts, stored data is the core of your business operations.

Imagine the cost and length of time that would be required to recreate those records.

To prevent that kind of risk, it is essential to regularly and automatically backup your data.

By storing a backup of your data at an offsite location, you will have access to the information your business needs to remain in operation, even if your facility is inaccessible or destroyed.

BDR = Business Continuity

Operating a business comes with inherent risk.

Mitigating that risk is something every business leader must consider.

From ensuring a safe environment for customers who visit your location to having a lock on your door to prevent theft, to having a sprinkler system that quickly puts out fires, businesses are always looking for ways to minimize risks.

Backup and data recovery (BDR) is an essential risk mitigation strategy for business continuity – one that can be very costly to ignore.

It might not rain today, or tomorrow. It might not rain until next week. But you’ll be glad to have an umbrella with you so that you’re prepared when it does rain.

The ITeam provides essential IT support to Calgary businesses, with fully managed and customized offsite backup services and secure storage in a Calgary-based secure facility with 24/7 monitoring. Offsite backup and disaster recovery is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The ITeam will work with your Alberta business to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that will ensure the continuity you need. Contact us for a free consultation.

Offsite Backup Is a Crucial Component of IT Support

March 24, 2015/5 Comments/in BDR, Disaster Recovery /by James Wagner

Offsite Backup Is a Crucial Component of IT Support Calgary businesses should have necessary IT Support in place to ensure continuity.

One of the most crucial elements to put in place is offsite backups.

Offsite backups are a must for every business.

They help to protect organizations from the loss of data that occurs with onsite server failures or as a result of physical catastrophes such as fire, flood, theft, or vandalism.

How Do Offsite Backups Work?

Recording data to tapes and physically transporting them to a secure storage facility have been replaced by remote, cloud-based backups.

Offsite backups are not complicated.

Once the initial setup is complete, data is backed up automatically and continuously.

Image-based backups provide near-immediate recovery for virtual machines, and online backups ensure that an organization’s valuable data is securely stored in the cloud, accessible from anywhere in case the business is displaced.

This data is fully recoverable and restorable so that an organization can continue to remain operational regardless of the issue.

What Factors Are Necessary for Offsite Backups?

No business is immune to the risk of data loss or disruption from an unexpected disaster.

Your IT Support services should include offsite backup that offers:

Immediate disaster recovery services
Safe, secure storage of data
Local hosting and support
Customizable solutions
24/7 monitoring
Virtual machine backup and replication
Fully managed recovery services

What Should Be Backed Up Offsite?

One of the most important considerations in creating an organization’s offsite backup and disaster recovery plan is determining what information is crucial to keep the business operational.

From client data to secure processes, from account detail to current project notes, the offsite backup should include all of the information needed to continue operating if returning to the business location is not an option.

Such information may include emails, documents, contracts, images, tax records, applications, and other rudiments necessary to conduct the day-to-day operations of the business.

What Are the Benefits of Offsite Backup?

There are a number of benefits to offsite backup, not the least of which is peace of mind.

Knowing that business data is stored safely and securely so that it is accessible no matter what happens allows business leaders to focus on achieving business objectives rather than worrying about what-ifs.

Offsite backups are:

Reliable
Efficient
Cost-effective
Easy to use
Secure

Your IT Support provider should be able to offer fully managed and customized offsite backup services with secure storage in a Calgary-based secure facility with 24/7 monitoring.

Offsite backup and disaster recovery is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

The ITeam will work with your Alberta business to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that will ensure the continuity you need.

Disaster Recovery in the Modern Age Ensures Business Continuity

February 24, 2015/2 Comments/in BDR, Disaster Recovery /by James Wagner

IT Disaster Recovery To Ensure Business Continuity What would an hour of downtime cost your business?

Hundreds of dollars?

Thousands?

Maybe even the loss of a client?

In today’s era of image-based backups, cloud services, and cost-effective on-demand IT services, there is no reason why any business should risk being without a comprehensive disaster recovery plan.

And that is the key: Solid disaster recovery begins with planning.

Identify Your Business

To implement an effective disaster recovery plan, you need to know your business:

What elements of your business are so essential that you cannot survive without instant access to them?
What information or data do you store that, if lost, would put your customers at risk?
What proprietary business data do you need to be protected in order to maintain your position in the industry?

Once the essential elements that make up the structure of your business have been identified, creating a disaster recovery plan becomes easier.

Create Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Your disaster recovery plan should integrate with your business in a way that prevents downtime from disrupting your business continuity.

Part of your disaster recovery planning requires you to consider different scenarios.

Having your location damaged as a result of fire or another natural disaster necessitates different protocols than discovering a disgruntled employee has deleted files or compromised security.

In each case, you need to have an action plan in place and be able to respond swiftly.

An oil and gas company may need to prioritize security.

A dental office may need to prioritize access to patient records.

Legal and financial firms will need to address regulatory compliance in their planning.

Most organizations will need to consider the impact of BYOD technology and how that impacts security and disaster recovery both positively and negatively.

Planning for disaster is essential for every business that wants to remain functional, whether a minor disaster occurs (a server fails, an employee deletes essential information) or a dire situation threatens to disrupt your business continuity.

Ideally, you will be able to create a disaster recovery plan that is comprehensive enough to keep you operational in any situation and flexible enough to meet your specific needs.

The benefits of disaster recovery include:

Round-the-Clock Monitoring and Protection
Rapid Recovery
VM Backup
Cloud BDR
Offsite Backup

Disaster recovery is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

The ITeam will work with your Alberta business to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that will ensure the continuity you need.