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How to ensure business critical data lasts a lifetime
~ Tony Byers at Iron Mountain reveals his tips for protecting corporate data ~

Data is the lifeblood of an organisation. Protecting it and ensuring uninterrupted access to it are key business challenges. Experiencing data loss from natural disasters, fire, sabotage, terrorism or human error can damage company credibility and even destroy a business. Having a reliable and secure data backup and retrieval plan is vital in ensuring that businesses are protected against any such data loss.

To guarantee business continuity, backup data needs to be in the safest place possible: off-site, off-line and out-of-reach. However many businesses continue to store their business critical records onsite leaving them open to a multitude of vulnerabilities. Many people would think the major cause of data loss might be bugs, computer viruses, or equipment failures. But actually it's none of these. The majority of data loss is caused by human error. It's important, therefore, that companies back up regularly and implement a business continuity plan so that should the worst happen, the business will not be affected.

When and how often should businesses backup?
Data files change each time new information is entered or existing data is amended. Most companies perform daily backups of files that have changed during the day and perform a complete backup of operating systems on a regular pre-determined basis - weekly or monthly for example. Companies must determine how often critical data changes to establish the frequency of the backup schedule.

When backing up it's important businesses consider the following points:

Backup daily as best practice - a data loss disaster can occur at any time
Check backups regularly
Remove your backup tape to a secure, off-site storage facility
Introduce a rotation plan - never use the same tape cartridge two days in a row. This maintains the integrity of the tape quality and ensures longevity of your data
Use specialist tape containers to safeguard against damage to the media during transport. Containers should include shock absorption and protect the tapes against debris, excessive humidity or moisture
Ensure the vehicles that transport the tapes have environmental controls to maintain optimum temperature for your tapes
Formulate a disaster recovery plan in case the worst happen

Off-site data protection
According to a report published in 2004 by The London Chamber of Commerce, ninety per cent of companies that experience significant data loss go out of business within only two years. It is vital businesses plan for how they would go about getting back up and running in the shortest time possible.

Removing the backup media to highly secure, off-site and environmentally controlled vaults, has become a necessity in today's environment of increased data volumes and data protection guidelines. It also ensures that data is safe and available for retrieval whenever required.

How long should data be kept?
Legislation is increasingly prevalent in governing the use and handling of digital data specifically in government and financial services. This is aimed at decreasing the intentional and unintentional mishandling of electronic business records. It is required by law that data such as financial documents, contracts, personnel files, patient records is archived for a specified time period.

A major reason for getting business continuity right is that owners and information officers will be held responsible for the loss of any data, regardless of the reasons behind the loss.

Backing up regularly to tape helps businesses meet compliance requirements while at the same time ensuring that data is readily available for any audit or legal discovery purposes.

Compliance legislation can be a minefield, but it's essential businesses understand all the legislation relevant to them. For example in the UK there is legislation such as the Data Protection Act and SoX, but not all companies will be required to comply. Employing a compliance manager will make the process much simpler and ensure that companies are not caught out.

Care and handling of media tapes
Once critical data is backed up to tape, that tape takes on huge importance to business continuity. Incorrect treatment of the tape during handling and transit can lead to degradation of the tape itself and potentially even the loss of some or all of the data stored on it. Most data loss can be traced to errors in use and handling. Keeping the place of work clean is of the utmost importance. A particle of dust, a hair or even a fingerprint, for instance, are already much thicker than a data track.

The following guidelines will help businesses to ensure that the transportation of tapes does not increase the risk of data loss.

Handling

Never remove a cartridge while the drive is reading or writing the tape
Never touch the tape; fingerprints can cause read or write problems
Never drop cartridges. The impact can damage internal components of the tape. This can lead to data loss
Never load a damaged cartridge into your tape drive
Never try to open the cartridge casing

Storage

Remove tape cartridges from the tape drives when not in use
Label tapes correctly to ensure efficient storage and quick retrieval
Use labels specified for magnetic tape, and place only in designated label area
Write protect the media before placing into storage or archive
Store cartridges in the correct operating environment. If the tape is stored off-site, ensure it is under the correct environmental conditions
Ensure data is secure and protected and access to it limited
Always allow cartridges to acclimatise to the operating environment before using
Keep cartridges dry and away from direct sunlight and electromagnetic fields
Keep more than one copy of each backup

Transportation

Re-package tape cartridges in the original manufacturer's packaging if possible
Use the correct tape cases when transporting your media off-site. Containers should include shock absorption and protect the tapes against debris, excessive humidity and moisture
Cleaning
Airborne dust and dirt particles can affect the efficiency of your tape drive. Ensure the drive is cleaned on a regular basis
Follow the manufacturer's guidelines when purchasing cleaning tapes
Only use cleaning tapes which are recommended by the tape drive manufacturer. Different tape technologies can have different requirements for cleaning

Tape care doesn't stop at archiving. Just because the backup tapes have been safely archived does not mean that responsibility towards the data has ended. The integrity, accessibility and eventual secure destruction of the backup media are also essential processes.

As the mountain of information businesses need to store grows, implementing a business continuity plan is essential. Companies should consider what timeframe they have for getting back up-and-running without losing money or customers and ensure that any business continuity plan follows a predetermined timeline.

Nothing can prevent a natural disaster, but as long as companies are prepared there's no reason it should disrupt the running of the business.