Keep the festive season festive: avoid database disasters.
According to Gartner only 6 percent of companies survive longer than two years after losing data.
While data loss can happen any time, the festive season can be a particularly tough one when it comes to database management. The main challenge? Shortage of staff.
In-house or outsourced, your Database Administrators are a critical resource for your business. While their job might not be so visible, they are the people that ensure your database is working efficiently, they are those who troubleshoot problems, and those who maintain and upgrade hardware and software, among other things. They are the people you rely upon for the safety of your company lifeblood: data.
However, as the festive season approaches, IT staff deserve to take a well-earned rest – but can they? And especially, can you afford it?
Leaving your database unattended can result in disaster: from not knowing if the systems are actually running, to lack of back-ups, your company would be exposed to serious risk of data loss, something you want to avoid at all costs. Can you imagine not knowing anymore who your clients are or how to reach out to them? What about not having access to your financial records? This type of data loss can easily destroy a company.
Not only that, but according to Symantec, October through to December is the most common period for business data breaches.
How can you prevent all of this from happening? If you can’t afford to have a rota or to fully outsource* your database management, before your DBAs go on leave, ensure that you:
Complete a health-check
to evaluate the performance of your SQL or Oracle database and highlight possible areas that require upgrades or fixes.
Perform a full back-up
to ensure that you have a complete copy of the database. While a back-up only allows restoring the database to a point-in-time when the backup was made, it would be better than losing all your data.
Have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan
to prevent the cost and risk of downtime.
While these 3 steps won’t be able to fully protect your database, they will help minimise the effects of a disaster, should this occur.
*And what if you outsource your Database management? In this case you should be assured that your database is in safe hands. Importantly though, check with your provider that they also provide full cover over the holidays.
On the bright side, the festive season can be the opportunity for updating and upgrading your IT system.
With most users and businesses going into slow-mode, December is the best time to implement those major works to your database that you have been postponing because they often require downtime, as the quiet time means minimum disruption.
So, as you start planning your Christmas shopping, don’t forget to plan your Database management over the holidays.
Sean Rodgers is WellData’s Commercial Director. With over 18 years of experience in database management and IT operations, Sean supervises and mentors our Database Administrators to ensure that our clients get personalised care and cutting-edge solutions for their IT requirements. At WellData we guarantee that our UK-only based team provides affordable and proactive support 24/7, no matter the time of the year.
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