The computer company Acer has been hit hard by hackers, with multiple attacks.
On one of the cyber attacks, the hackers included a $50 million ransom demand. What were they holding for ransom? Data.
In today’s digital world, you have to be on top of your data management like a pro. Otherwise, you too could fall victim to cyber-attacks and problems like identity theft.
What are the best ways to keep your data safe? Read on to learn data best practices for storage and backups.
What Is Data Management?
Data management is how you collect in-store all of your company’s digital data. This data can include customer information, internal emails, and more. The management practices that worked 5 years ago aren’t going to hold up today.
Same Page Approach
The management system will need to be consistent so that everybody’s on the same page. In other words, you can’t have one employee storing data one way and another strain it in another way.
Instead, the entire organization needs to be well apprised on the best management practices. By getting everyone on the same page, you’ll be able to reduce the chances of data loss too.
Directly Attached to Storage Options
One of the first approaches to managing data would be a directly attached storage option. A directly attached storage option is going to include data that you store physically on a computer.
You might think that a directly attached storage option would be outdated. However, there are certain situations where having information stored on a physical hard drive can serve you well.
Along with hard drives, CDs and DVD drives are also considered directly attached storage options. The same holds true for solid-state drives and flash drives.
If you’re going to use the direct-attached storage approach, then you’ll need to provide a few security measures. For one, the computer that you’re storing the information on should be in a separate room that’s not accessible by every employee. The room should be locked, and only those with permission to be on the computer should be allowed to have a key.
When would you want to take a direct-attached storage approach? For one, it can be a great option when you’re working with a tight budget.
New companies that are just starting out will be able to use a direct storage option for local backups. However, it’ll become difficult when you need to start sharing data between machines. At that time, you’ll need to move into a network-attached storage option.
Network-Attached Storage Options
As your company grows, you’ll need to start looking into network-attached storage options. These are the options that are going to allow multiple machines to share data over a network.
The machines are going to use a variety of hard drives and other storage devices in a RAID configuration. One of the biggest benefits of using a network-attached storage option is that you’ll be able to centralize your data.
Keeping all of the data centralized will make it easier to improve collaboration among your team. For instance, you can quickly share data from one machine to the next.
You’ll be able to instantly adjust permission levels so that you can have the perfect control access set up. Your network-attached storage option is going to cost more than a direct-attached approach. However, if you want to move forward in the modern world, you’re going to need to invest eventually.
Storage Area Network Options
Is your company going to be handling big data? When organizations have to handle large amounts of data, they tend to rely on a storage area network option. These options are the best when you’re moving data in the size of terabytes.
Often times large pieces of data won’t be able to fit on a single server. Instead of keeping it on a single server, that’s likely to crash, organizations move it over to a storage area network plan.
A storage area network plan is a separate network that appears to the main server in a special way. It gives you the ability to configure multiple storage devices and servers into a mini-network. The main purpose will be to store all of your data!
The mini-network will connect to the main network so that all of your team members can access the data as needed. It’s normal for storage area network options to have redundant servers. They’re usually connected with high-speed fiber-optic connections that keep things nice and fast.
Smart Data Use and Data Protection for Backups
Knowing how to store your data is just a start; you also need to develop a solid data backup plan. If you have a Mac, you can use sites like https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-backup-your-mac. Mac backups are easy and should be done on a regular basis.
There are a few other ways you can back up your data too. One of those ways involves using a flash drive or USB stick.
The advantage of backing up your data this way is that it’s affordable and accessible. You’ll be able to enjoy fast transfer speeds, and you only need a little bit of energy for the backup.
The downside to USB sticks is that they are prone to damage. You might want to consider getting your data into the cloud instead.
Cloud-enabled backup can be automatic. In other words, you can set the cloud to back up your data periodically and never have to think about it again.
One of the most significant advantages of getting your data in the cloud is that you’ll be able to access it from anywhere. You’ll have some of the most significant storage capabilities, and you can usually find reasonable storage fee prices.
Begin to Use Data Best Practices
We hope you’ll be able to use the tips from this article to keep your data safe. Knowing how to store and backup data can help you rest at ease your information’s safe. As your company looks to grow, every threat that you can minimize helps set you up for success.
Along with learning the best data management practices, we’d love to help you with other tips. Take a look at the rest of our website for more insights. You never know what you might learn!
