Q: Can you advise on what is the best course of action to ensure my Data is Backed Up?

A: The biggest question is how confident are you that you can recover quickly and therefore continued to operate in the event you lost data?

A good starting point would be to look at the data files that are being backed up, the frequency, the amount and the way in which it is being done i.e. tape, cartridge etc. Do you have any gaps i.e. employees saving data to the PC as opposed to a central repository such as a server or perhaps a mobile workforce who only visit the office occasionally? Where do you then store the copies of the data backup? A fire proof safe in the building is no good because would you be able to access it in the event of a fire? From this you will be able to understand the size of the task in hand.

The most comprehensive solution for SMEs that we have seen on the marketplace which incidentally covers Business Continuity as well, would guarantee that you your business would be back up and running within 20 minutes in the event your server(s) went down, for as little as £120 per month. This solution solves 1) in this example Business Continuity and 2) also backs up your data. There are also a range of different methods to do backups such as tape, cartridge, online and if you have more than one property, cross site data replication.

Additionally if you have moved, or considering moving some of your IT into the "Cloud" the service provider should be backing up your data. They will have significant resources to do this and provide a much more comprehensive and robust backup policy.

Some businesses even promote their data backup policy to prospective clients as an assurance that they could continue in the event they had to perform a data restore.

I would suggest you talk to a local pro-active IT Service Provider as they will be able to advise on more than just the technical aspect but the practicalities as well to ensure the solution meets the required objectives and can incorporate this into your Business Continuity Plan.