The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy
The 3-2-1 backup strategy is well-known across the IT industry. Despite drastic changes to the technology powering backups and calls for different configurations, the 3-2-1 backup strategy provides a baseline rule by which companies can protect the data on which they rely.
The 3-2-1 backup strategy states that you should keep:
- THREE copies of your data
- Backed-up data on TWO different storage types
- At least ONE copy of the data offsite
Why Does 3-2-1 Backup Strategy Work?
Backup is central to any disaster recovery strategy. Businesses that fail to backup their data are unable to recover from a disaster event. In fact, 60% of businesses who experience data loss shut down within 6 months of the event.
The 3-2-1 backup strategy provides a basic framework for complete backup and disaster recovery planning. By ensuring you have multiple data copies on different storage types in different places, you account for the following:
- corrupted data
- data loss
- data theft
- hardware failure
- geographic-based disaster
Is The Cloud a Viable Off-Site Solution?
The uptick in cloud computing means many backup experts have shifted their definition of off-site to equal cloud. And while the cloud is a viable off-site solution, it probably shouldn’t be the only off-site solution.
Off-site should also include an addendum: offline. The off-site backup should be always accessible. Since the cloud operates via network connectivity, if the cloud isn’t accessible, neither will the off-site backup. Using the cloud as an off-site backup is ideal only when done in consort with a physically accessible off-site – offline – backup.
With managed IT services from Axigent, you have the support and expertise you need to take the next step in your backup journey. Our team can provide the right backup solution for your business.