Darina Loakman.com

Do you have an effective back-up strategy?

When was the last time you backed up your files and drives on your computer?

I have learned the hard way the importance of having a regular and tested back-up strategy. A number of years ago alaptop of mine was stolen at an Airport and I didn’t have a recent back-up.

The embarrasing thing about the incident was that I was responsible for the network backup strategy and the employees backing up their pc’s at the time, all of which was done nightly and the files stored off site and tested regularly. So why didn’t I have my own stuff backed up? A bit of “I’ll do it tomorrow” “I don’t have time” “I must do that”. Some of the info I lost I was never able to recover and for months later it was still affecting my work.

Often we can be very conscientous when it comes to other people, our clients, our customers, our colleagues, but when it comes to ourselves, something happens and it all gets put on hold.

As the owner of a home-based business it’s extremely important that you have a back-up strategy, and business continuity plan. All it takes is for an enthusiastic junior to try and “help” Mummy while carrying an overful glass of water (It’s almost happened to me !) and your day rapidly goes downhill.

You should consider not only your computer files but all your work related business such as bank records and other financial information. When choosing where to store the info you can consider CD,s DVD,s External Hard Drives, Online services. Here’s a handy guide to choosing your storage

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/wherebackup.mspx

External hard drives have really come down in price, but do shop around and try and read as many reviews as possible.

If you don’t have a backup plan and procedures in place, make it your priority for the next week. We’ll be talking further about this on www.hbwtalkradio.ie in the future.

Darina