Computer Service Orlando: Optimizing Your Backup

When you want to protect your business and all of your important files, data and client information, regular backups are one of the simplest but most effective things you can do. Knowing how a backup works and how often to do one are crucial to getting the data protection you need. In today’s blog, we’ll be discussing tips you can implement at home or in the office.

How does a backup work?

To get the most of backup protection, you’ll need to understand what goes into one! Put simply, backing up your data means placing your files and data somewhere other than one physical computer—it could be an external hard drive, USB flash drive, CD or other piece of storage. You can also back your info up to non-physical storage—that is, online using a cloud solution. While you typically pay for storage in this way, you also get stronger protection. Online storage in a remote location is more secure than physical media which can be broken, lost or damaged—it can also be accessed from just about anywhere you have internet, which is a big plus for on the go business owners.

While you can manually back up files onto a storage device, making use of a backup software makes the process so much easier, faster and foolproof. If you’re a business owner, backing up once a day or when dealing with especially important files is smart—but you usually won’t have to worry about deciding when to back up, as most software can be programmed to do it automatically throughout the day as you work and save files.

Tips for optimization

Using a designated backup software is extremely effective at keeping your files safe, but there are things you can do to make your files even more secure… which is always good!

One such measure is regularly testing your backup to ensure that it’s working like it should. Do this initially upon installation and your first backup, to see if all the files went through okay and were preserved. You can repeat this regularly, but you don’t have to do it every day—the key here is just knowing that the software works and will continue to work when you really need it.

The next tip is to always prioritize the most important files first. These applies to manual backups, but also to software. When you take advantage of a cloud backup service, you will typically have to perform an initial backup first. This can take quite a while, so choose the most important files to start out with!

If you’re wondering when you will actually use your backed up files, the answer is hopefully never! But accidents can and do happen from time to time. Malware can cause you to lose access to your files and information, and natural disasters like hurricanes or big summer storms can damage your office and physical desktop computer—for those reasons, it’s always smart to have a recent backup on hand.