IT
Support Fact Sheet
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fact sheet as a PDF to read later, or to print out, please
click
here. Alternaively read on.
Does your business have a backup of
all its important files?
If for some reason your computer failed, because of an electrical
fault, hardware failure or it was stolen or destroyed in a
fire, you should keep a backup of your important files and
information that you have stored on your computers.
How often is the information backed
up?
The more often you backup your files and data the better.
If an electrical surge takes out your computer, the less often
you backup, the more days worth of work you stand to lose.
Basically, the more important your data, the more often you
should do a backup.
Do you take a copy of the backup off-site?
Doing an on-site backup means that if you have problems and
need to retrieve data from your backup, it’s quick and
easy to do so. However, if your backup is stolen, or lost
to fire, having an off-site backup is vital for business continuity.
If fire or theft is a possibility, you should consider the
ways that you can keep an off-site backup.
What hardware and software do you use
to back up?
There are many ways of doing backups, and all the different
types of media can be confusing. The easiest method is to
use at least 2 external USB hard disks, swapping them each
day, so you have 3 copies of the data.
Windows has it’s own backup software built in, but there
are many other products available, and each has it’s
own benefits and features.
Do you know how to retrieve files from
your backup?
Lots of people do a backup and never have to test its viability.
However, if you are one of the unlucky ones that have lost
your data, knowing how to retrieve files in a hurry will help.
How many copies of the backup do you
keep?
Having more than one copy of your backup spreads the risk
of the backup media failing, and you losing valuable data.
2 External sources of data is the minimum you should aim for.
3 is better, 5 gives greater flexibility.
How much data could you stand to lose?
Providing a backup regime is a key business decision, involving
factors such as time and money. The question is how much information
could you lose without it being too much of problem? Most
people backup the days work overnight, meaning the most work
that could be lost would be one day’s worth.
Have you considered what to do in a
disaster situation?
For example, one or more computers are stolen
Picture the scenario, you come into work one day, and the
police are there. 2 of your computers have been stolen, one
of them has your accounts on it, and it is unlikely they will
be found. How long will it take to get things back to normal?
If you are not sure, or it’s more than half a day, then
maybe you should be considering putting together a disaster
recovery plan. We can help you do this for less than you might
think.
How long would it take to get things
back to normal after a hard disk failure for example?
Your hard drive has failed, your PC won’t switch on.
You need to know that in situations like this that there is
someone you can rely on to retrieve your data, or in severe
cases, restore your system, possibly on new hardware within
a short space of time.
Computers are like cars, they need regular maintenance, we
believe twice yearly is best, how often do you do yours?
Most people probably don’t even know where to start
with regular maintenance. We recommend you do a disk defrag
once every 6 months on a normal pc system. Once a year a good
clean of the inside of your pc with compressed air to remove
dust will keep the machine running on those hot days. As part
of our contract, we will visit you twice a year, on a mutually
agreed date and perform this maintenance on your machines,
as well as a whole host of other checks, tests and analysis
to ensure your PC’s are running at optimum performance.
Whether it's IT support in Shropshire, a website in Herefordshire
or Marketing assistance in Worcestershire, we can help.
To arrange a meeting please call us on 01584 890725 |
