World Backup Day: Starting a New Tradition
If you weren’t aware that March 31 is World Backup Day, don’t beat yourself up about it. The impromptu holiday was only created last year. Chances are this occasion won’t be celebrated with cake in the conference room, but it should certainly be on your radar. Strategically placed just ahead of April Fools Day, World Backup Day serves as an important reminder that leaving your most important information without a contingency plan is just, well, foolish.
And since media management isn’t always the hottest topic of conversation in the workplace, it might be a good idea to capitalize on the opportunity to educate your colleagues on best practices and reexamine your own strategies.
A bit of introspection
Before you can go instruct fellow employees on the ins and outs of data protection, it would probably be best to take a look at how your media management technologies and policies are currently operating. Although implementing and testing backup tape management systems may already be one of your areas of expertise, even the best of us have room for improvement. So why not go over all scenarios again to ensure everything is still in working order? You might be surprised what you find, and it’s always better to identify a potential vulnerability sooner rather than later.
Taking it to the masses
There is no need to bore your colleagues with the technical specifications of your IT architecture and its implications for the backup window. In fact, it could be counterproductive and send them back to checking email on their BlackBerrys instead. What you need to do is frame the importance of backing up data in terms they can both appreciate and understand.
For example, everyone can empathize with losing out on a sale because a crucial presentation went missing from a desktop hard drive. Alternatively, nobody wants to see the company fall victim to a multi-million dollar lawsuit following the loss or leak of customer insurance records.
Now that you have their attention, they will be more interested in – and receptive to – your data backup advice. But in addition to imparting your wisdom, you should also remember to reiterate the expectations contained in company policy. Sometimes it is a fundamental lack of understanding that leads workers astray, and addressing frequently asked questions in an open forum could stop a number of headaches before they start.