Data Backup is very essential. This goes for everyone dealing with large or small volumes of data. You just can not be certain what will happen that will have you lose all your data in one go. You, therefore, need to have a backup for your data, online or offline, especially if it is work data and exceeds 10GB. While data backup is not in any way complicated, there are still common mistakes made by different people when making a data backup. This article looks to address the commonest of these mistakes and also show you how they can be avoided.
So strap on and let’s dive in.
Contents
1. No Backup
This is the commonest yet simplest mistake to fix. Always ensure to have a data backup online, offline, or maybe both. For data like media, comprising of photos and videos, you can back it up on your Google Drive or iCloud. All you have to do is have a Gmail account and the Google Drive App or iCloud account installed on your device. To backup, your media on Google, follow these steps
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initial.
- Select Photos settings. Back up & sync.
- Tap “Back up & sync” on or off.
Documents and any other data that doesn’t fall under the bracket of media, you can backup on external storage like hard drives or flash disks.
2. Inconsistent Backup
Fixing a backup system is not 100% good enough since the average failure rate of backing up data is 75%. Therefore, for the average small business, schedule a daily, monthly, or weekly backup. The more data is created, the more frequent backups should occur. Therefore the more data you have, the more frequently you should back it up. The risk of losing data increases with the increase in the bulk of the said data, so ensure that you abide by your set timeframe of backup to avoid data loss.
Read Also: How to backup Android phone to PC Windows
3. Relying on the physical storage
Physical storage looks like a reliable backup system but it is tangible and visible hence subjected to many dangers like fire, disc braking, and overheating. However, it is not the most reliable as these physical storage devices can be damaged, stolen, or infected with viruses from other computers or devices. therefore to mitigate the risk, always try to rely more on cloud storage. Cloud storage is safer and so long as you don’t forget your passwords or log-in credentials you will have access to your data, anytime.
For Windows PCs, and Android phones you can back up your information online using features like Google Docs for documents, and Google Photos for media. For users with Macbooks and iPhones, you can back up your data on iCloud.
To backup data on iCloud go to Settings> Photos > iCloud Photos and toggle to on. This will automatically upload and store your library to iCloud, including iCloud.com, where you can view and download photos on a computer.
4. Not using Automation Features
Automated backups are safer since, unlike human beings, computers follow instructions and will execute tasks at the exact time they are asked to. Also, there is a limited risk of mistakes and backing up the wrong data because computers don’t make mistakes. Manual backup is more susceptible to more human errors like incorrect backing up of data and forgetting to backup data.
5. Not storing a Copy Offsite
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, by storing all your data on tangible devices. Have your backed-up data stored in various locations such that when anything happens to one location, you can still access your data from another location. For example, if it is a working backup, have a copy that you update regularly at home. By doing this you avoid loss fueled by fires and theft.
6. Not verifying Backups
It is one thing to back up your data and another to back up your data correctly. Every time you backup data in the storage, look at it before deleting the original copy and download a copy from your backup storage such that you can always reuse it.
Wrap Up: Now that you know some of the mistakes you have been making in regards to backing up data, you also know how to avoid them. However, in circumstances where the data is lost, you can always recover the deleted data.