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Does your business have a backup plan

How to Create a Data Backup Plan & Strategy in 4 Easy Steps in 2024

A data backup plan is your insurance policy against data breaches and losses. It helps you secure your business data and maintain operations in case of disaster. Learn how to design and implement a data backup strategy to safeguard your data.

Grace MicereValentina BravoIgor Kurtz

Written by Grace Micere (Writer)

Reviewed by Valentina Bravo (Editor)

Facts checked by Igor Kurtz (Fact-checking editor)

Last Updated: 2024-12-06T10:07:59+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

Key Takeaways: What Is a Data Backup Strategy?
  • A data backup strategy is a plan to securely store data and protect it from losses that may occur due to catastrophic events.
  • The three backup methods are full, differential and incremental, while the three backup locations are tape, cloud and disk. 
  • Choose a backup method based on the amount of data you intend to back up, how often you’ll save it and how quickly you want to recover it in case of a disaster.

Facts & Expert Analysis: Data Backup Planning

  • Most businesses use cloud backup: The majority of businesses store their data in the cloud, amounting to 60% of corporate data by 2023.1
  • AI and automations help reduce breach costs: Companies that applied AI and automation technologies to security and prevention strategies reduced breach costs by $2.22 million compared to those that didn’t.2
  • Breaches in multiple environments: Data stored in multiple environments accounted for 40% of data breaches in 2024.2 

If you’ve experienced data losses before, you know how essential a data backup plan is. Even if you haven’t, we recommend you set one up to protect your business from unforeseen data loss. An effective backup plan can help you quickly restore your data and resume normal business operations when something unexpected does occur.

If you understand the importance of a data backup strategy but don’t know where to start, this guide is for you. We’ll take you through how to create a data backup plan and show you the different methods you can choose from. When you’re ready to pick a provider, check out our list of the best cloud backup services and why we recommend them. 

  • 12/06/2024 Facts checked

    Article rewritten to include up-to-date information about data backup strategies and tools.

What Is a Data Backup Strategy?

A data backup strategy is a plan to protect your personal or business data from losses and restore it in case of system failure or other catastrophes. You can use data backups to store any digital information, including datasets, documents and applications. The data is sometimes stored in multiple locations to ensure it is readily available when necessary.

Knowing the size of your business, the amount of data you want backed up and the budget you’re working with can help you develop a solid data backup strategy. If you opt for an online backup strategy, we recommend IDrive and Backblaze.

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Does Your Business Need a Data Backup Plan?

Yes, your business needs a backup plan. Not only does it protect critical data, but it also keeps you from system downtime, which costs the business money. Here are the other reasons why you need a data backup plan for your business.

  • Prevents data losses: Data backup lets you keep business data safe from losses that result from human error, malicious attacks, power outages, natural disasters and software or hardware failure. 
  • Protects data from cybercriminals: Data backups offer data protection, where sensitive data is kept away from data breaches and the prying eyes of cybercriminals. Common cybercrime attacks include DDoS attacks, malware, ransomware and zero-day exploits. 
  • Maintains operational continuity: A data backup system lets you recover data quickly in case of a catastrophe. This reduces the amount of downtime and financial losses that may result from it. 
  • Upholds compliance: Regulations such as the GDPR and HIPAA require businesses to keep secure backup systems of customer data. Having a data backup and recovery plan helps your business remain compliant. 
  • Maintains business reputation: Data loss is usually detrimental to a business’s reputation. Keeping critical business data secure using backup storage options helps you prevent data breaches and maintain customer trust. 
  • Saves you money: Data backups help you save on costs. Paying for data backup software is definitely cheaper than getting a data breach resolved.

How to Create a Data Backup Strategy for Your Business

To create a data backup strategy for your business, you’ll need to assess the scope of the data you want to store. Choose a backup solution, backup method and frequency. Then, implement the backup plan and ensure it is working optimally. Let’s take a closer look at the process. 

1. Assess the Scope of Your Data

Begin by checking the data that needs to be backed up because it is crucial to business continuity. This kind of data is called mission critical data and includes financial, accounting and customer data. Not all data may need backing up. Therefore, identify the information that’s of the highest priority and would need instant recovery in the event of a disaster.

Classify your data into different types, including files, videos, images, applications and databases. Once you know how much data needs backing up, you can determine how much storage space you require.

2. Choose a Backup Solution

Once you determine how much data you need to back up, your next step is to pick a secure storage solution that matches your business needs. Choose between on-premises storage or a cloud service provider. On-premises storage, such as tapes, are highly customizable. However, in case of a robbery or natural disaster, you’ll lose all your data.

idrive disk choosing
IDrive is a cloud backup and storage solution that’s affordable and simple to use.

You can also opt for a cloud storage solution, allowing remote access to the data stored. It is easier to set up and requires less maintenance compared to on-premises backup solutions. When choosing between cloud service providers, look for robust security, the recovery services included, the types of backups offered and how much the service costs.

3. Determine Your Backup Method and Frequency

After choosing your preferred backup solution, you’ll need to choose a backup method and frequency. Your backup method determines how fast the data backup and recovery processes will be. The most common options are incremental, differential and full backup.

Backup frequency determines how often you back up your data — hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. It depends on factors like the types of data you have and your recovery point objective, which is how much information you’re willing to lose in the event of a catastrophe. 

It also depends on the regulatory requirements you should follow to remain compliant with national and international data laws. The image below shows how to schedule backup frequency on IDrive.

idrive backup frequency
You can schedule your backup frequency on IDrive and even get alerts whenever the backup schedule isn’t working properly.

4. Implement Your Data Backup Plan

You can now put your data backup and disaster recovery plan to the test to ensure it works as it should. A test run will help you see any issues that may be hiding in the cracks so you can address them and avoid data losses in case of a disaster. These tests should also be conducted frequently to ensure the backups continue to take place and work optimally. 

What Are the Types of Data Backup?

The five main types of backup are full, incremental, differential, cloud and tape backup. The backup methods you pick depend on how often you intend to run the backup process and the recovery time objective you have set for your business. You can use one or all of the backup methods listed below.

  • Full backup: This method allows you to make a backup copy of all your business data in a single backup cycle.
  • Incremental backup: This method copies only the data and files that have been added or modified since the last backup, whether it was a full or partial backup.
  • Differential backup: This method copies only the data and files that have been added or modified since the last full backup. 
  • Cloud backup: This method stores copies of your data on remote servers that are owned and run by cloud service providers.
  • Tape backup: This method stores the replicated data in a magnetic tape cartridge for the short or long term. 

What Is the 3-2-1 Backup Rule?

The 3-2-1 backup rule is a data backup planning method that recommends storing three copies of your data in two different locations, with at least one of them being an off-site backup location. This data protection strategy ensures you can restore files even in the face of unprecedented data loss and other catastrophic events.

Final Thoughts

Data backup planning is essential to keeping data safe, and guarantees smooth business operations and prompt data recovery in case of a disaster. To develop a data backup plan, assess the scope of your data and choose a backup solution, method and frequency that works for your business. Finally, implement the backup system to ensure it works optimally.

Do you already have a data backup strategy in place, or are you looking to create one? If you have one in place, which method are you currently using? Does it work well for you, or are you seeking a better option? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thank you for reading.

FAQ: Data Backup Best Practices

  • The incremental backup method is the backup strategy that stores only files with the archive bit set but does not mark them.

  • You should store backup media off-site to protect your data from physical damage and cyber threats.

  • The best way to back up data for a small business is to use cloud service providers and local backup like a NAS drive or an external hard drive.

Sources:

  1. 2022 Thales Data Threat Report – Thales
  2. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 – IBM
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