You’ve heard it before, and I’m sure you’ll hear it again- backups are essential for your organization. Having great backups can mean the difference between maintaining a company in the face of disaster, or losing everything. But, are some types of backups more suited to particular industries?
We’ve talked about what type of backups are best for healthcare organizations, and today we are going to give you some insight into what type of backups are best for law firms.
There are four main components a law firm needs to pay attention to when it comes to their backups. These are: Encryption, Onsite and Offsite, Type of Device, and Standards. Let’s take them one at a time.
Encryption
Due to the type of data they store, and the need for privacy, one of the most important things a law firm needs to be concerned about with their backups is security. That’s why one of the first things a law firm needs to look for in a backup system is encryption. You need to make sure your backups have at least 256-bit encryption, and that it applies to both local and offsite backups. Having solid encryption in place will help prevent hackers from infiltrating your network and getting their hands on all that data. And, should a disaster occur and your company needs to spin up their backups, you know that your backup data is just as secure, because it is encrypted as well.
Onsite and Offsite
Most offsite backup solutions will require a local component as well. That means that even if you are backing up to the Cloud, you also need to have a physical piece of hardware in your office to back up your data.
For the onsite backup, you want to make sure that the physical piece of hardware is very secure. We recommend putting your backup device in the same room as the rest of your network equipment. This will ensure that the temperature remains constant for the device, and that it is as secure as the rest of your network equipment. (Side note- this room should be as secure as you can make it. It is your vault of computer valuables and should be protected as such).
Type of Device
Another aspect to pay attention to with this local backup device, is the possibility of getting a device that has a RAID, with swappable drives. This mean you can swap out one of the drives for another which is extremely useful in a couple different scenarios. First, if one of the drives goes bad, you can easily swap it out for a new drive, and you don’t have to replace the entire device. Second, it gives you the option of expanding the capacity of your backups. That way, as your company continues to grow and you accumulate more and more data, you will not have to keep buying a new, larger, backup device. They can get quite expensive.
Also, every time you get a new device, you will essentially have to start fresh with your backups. This means that if you accidentally delete something, and don’t realize it for, let’s say, a month, and within that time your company gets a new backup device, that data you deleted is now lost. (This has, in fact, happened to a client of ours.) This also brings up another important point- if you delete something, tell your IT support right away.
Standards
Many industries have different standards that an organization needs to meet when it comes to dealing with client data. For example, the medical industry has HIPAA requirements. So, when it comes to your backups, make sure your IT support does plenty of research into what the standards are for your industry, and checks into which backup solutions meet these requirements. These days, chances are that if they meet HIPAA requirements, they will meet any industry’s standards.
We tend to recommend using Intronis, StorageCraft, or Acronis for backups. Not only do they tend to meet all standards across a huge variety of industries, but they have excellent customer support services. There are many different types of backup solutions out there, and most of them probably fulfill all the requirements you need. So, another important feature to pay attention to is the customer support. You not only need your backups to work, you need people to be able to work with you so that you can feel confident that your backups are in the best possible hands.
Although some backup solutions might be more expensive than others, this is one area you can’t skimp on. Especially as a law firm, if a hacker is able to get into your backups, or if a disaster occurs and you can’t bring up your data, or even worse, if you lose data, it could have damaging consequences for your organization. And when it comes to your backups, cheaper is not better. Invest a little more in your backups now and the long-term payoffs will help keep your organization successful.
Questions about what type of backups are best for you? Let us know in the comments!