devices, and that they’re accessing them simultaneously as the lines between work time and personal
time continue to blur. Given this fragmented and
perilous landscape, IT departments need to be able
to exert complete control over corporate data and be
able to back it up in a secure, central location with a
vendor that has earned their complete trust.
New vendors enter the market
It’s true that there has been an influx of consumer-grade online backup offerings to the market, offering
individuals free or cheap online or cloud backup for
their personal information and files. But those offerings are not designed for the needs of today’s business.
“It’s now a viable option for consumers to have online
backup,” says Su. “But if businesses do not discern the
difference between consumer and corporate offerings,
they will find out that consumer-grade offerings will
not meet their business needs in terms of security,
compliance, scalability and reliability.”
do’s and don’ts of online backup
do understand your company’s compliance requirements and the implications for data protection,
even if your company is small or privately held.
“Even small firms in highly regulated industries like
accounting, finance or health care have a number of
compliance and security requirements mandated by
law,” says Mike Wipperfeld, vice president of product
management at Iron Mountain Digital. How about
the vendor? Do they understand the nuances of
compliance in your industry?
do understand the end-to-end encryption process
of your chosen solution. You need to know if the
data you transmit for backup remains encrypted
during the whole of its journey. What about when
you retrieve the data through ordering a DVD? Is it
still encrypted? If not, think carefully about signing
on with the vendor. Today’s hackers and corporate
thieves are adept at uncovering any loophole.
do look for redundant data centers. Does the vendor
have a backup plan for the backed-up data? What if
a natural disaster strikes the data center where your
data is stored? Redundant data centers leave you
with your bases covered.
do look beyond backup. Does the vendor provide
other products or services that could help you when
you need to make use of the stored data, such as in
the case of litigation discovery or an internal audit?
Check before you buy
“Businesses considering online backup should review
the basic features of the enterprise-grade solutions
available, keeping in mind that consumer-grade offerings may not be sufficient,” says Mark Kaufman, vice
president, engineering at Iron Mountain Digital.
3
ENCRYPTION: Enterprise-grade solutions take encryption seriously. Iron Mountain’s Connected® Backup
solution includes a comprehensive encryption process; data is encrypted along all stages of the process
—before it leaves the PC, in transit and in storage.
When data is retrieved, it’s sent back encrypted as
well. By contrast, some of the consumer-grade offerings send back data unencrypted, which can result
in a broken chain of custody. “For consumers, it’s
rarely a concern if somebody gets hold of Grandpa’s
picture,” says Su. But for businesses, data getting
into the wrong hands could be devastating.
don’t assume a consumer-grade product will work
for your company. It’s imperative to understand the
differences in vendors’ offerings in the online backup
space, and to consider those differences in light of
your business requirements.
don’t ignore the dangers of compromising corporate data. While the financial repercussions can be
considerable, the damage to your company’s reputation if sensitive data is lost or compromised may be
insurmountable.
don’t look for a bargain. You get what you pay for,
as in most things, and this is not the place to go with
the cheapest. “Price buyers want low price and they
will typically get lower value,” says Wipperfeld. For
consumers seeking a backup solution for personal
data, many of the free or inexpensive services fall on
the right side of that price/value equation. But corporations cannot afford to skimp. Companies like Iron
Mountain that provide secure and reliable backup
make considerable investments to ensure that the
data they take on is completely protected.
