Do your own periodic IT backups

As we become more and more dependent on digital information in our daily lives, our world seems to crumble when these digital information are corrupted or are lost. It is for this reason that we have to be diligent in doing periodic backups so that we always have a recent copy to reconstruct or restore corrupted or lost data. Availability of personal and work related digital information is probably one the things most taken for granted nowadays. Doing one’s periodic IT-related backup is often neglected or postponed to the most convenient time… until something bad does happen.

Doing periodic IT backup covers not just office work, but generally any part of our daily lives that deals with digital information. Most people only start to realize that they should be doing backups after experiencing an incident where they had to suffer the consequences of not having done it.

It starts with your celfone

As simple and basic as it may seem, celfones, including PDA fones, are probably the most depended on digital device today, not just because it keeps communication alive with family, friends, colleagues, etc., but because we have depended on it to store information very vital to us starting off with the contact numbers. Unlike before when there were walking telephone directories who memorized most of the telephone numbers of the people they know, a lot of people, including myself, now need to refer to our celfones for contact information. There are even those who need to refer to their celfones for their own mobile number.

So the question is… do you have a backup of your celfone’s phonebook/contacts? If yes, from the time you made your last backup, how many new entries have you made?  How many “dis s my nu no.” text messages have you received ever since?

If no, can you imagine your world without it and how you will be able to recreate those numbers again if the phonebook is corrupted or your celfone is lost or stolen? Are you ready to send a bunch of “hu u?” or “hu s dis plz” replies to people whose contact information is no longer in your celfone?

Although various hi-tech means to back up the contents of your celfones to computers are available, there are other alternatives. The most economic way is simply writing it down. Some people still maintain actual phonebooks and schedulers. It maybe the most crude and labor intensive way especially in terms of restoring the information to your repaired, replacement, or new celfone, but it is still an effective option.

You can also make a backup copy of your contacts in an alternate SIM. New prepaid packs are so affordable with some at just P30. Of course, the SIM has to be compatible with your celfone and you should not regularly use it as it can get lost or stolen together with your celfone.

Upscale celfones such as PDA fones are usually bundled with means of synchronizing and backing up of contents into a PC with a click of a mouse. One just has to utilize this feature.

Don’t forget the contents of your celfone’s external memory cards, as well as those in your digital cameras. You may have to back them up periodically to a CD-R or DVD-R to free up space and avoid getting those messages that the picture files cannot be opened or retrieved.

Then, your work

Backing up of work generally covers the work you do on a PC either at home, at the office, at a computer shop/café or at a friend’s house.

In a typical office environment, making backup copies of work is usually perceived as the role and responsibility of the IT people. But this usually covers data stored in servers and not on work stored in PCs. Doing regular back up is actually the responsibility of everyone handling digital information. Very few organizations have a robust backup system that automatically backs up all your data from your PC into a server. Most will have to rely on doing periodic backups on their own depending on office policies, guidelines, and procedures, if any.

There are so many options nowadays in facilitating doing your own periodic backup of work. The most economical are the optical media such as the CD-Rs that can store up to 700 megabytes (MB) of data and can go as low as P5 each or DVD+/-Rs that can store up to 4.7 gigabytes (GB) of data and can go as low as P10 each.  Just make sure though that you properly label it with dates and general description of contents for easy reference. USB drives are becoming more common as it becomes more available and more affordable. You can now buy a branded 2 GB USB drive for as low as P980. There are also smaller portable hard disks that cost around P5,000 all in. Some can even use their MP3/MP4 players such as some iPod models as a portable hard disk.

Backing up of work is recommended to be done at least once a month but the more often you do it, the safer it usually is. Laptops, due to their mobility, are more exposed to risk of loss, theft, and hard disk crash. Users of laptops should be more diligent in doing backups especially before long travels. They have to make sure that their backups such as optical disks, USB drive, and portable hard disk are kept in a separate bag as it will be pointless if the whole bag is lost or stolen. They may also opt to keep a copy at home or at the office.

One should seriously consider means to protect backup copies of work, especially confidential data, ending up with unauthorized people.

Lead by example

The irony sometimes is that some IT and risk management people neglect to do their own periodic backups. They are usually focused on the backup of data in the servers or work of other people but neglect to do their own. Try asking some of the IT and/or risk management people you know if they back up the contents of their celfones and see just how many do. But one does not have to be in IT or risk management to exemplify this good practice. Some of those who are just starting their careers do their own periodic back up probably due to teachings in schools, related articles they KPMG CORNER... From B-4

may have read, and due to bad experiences. Once others see how diligent one is with backups, they can be influenced and follow suit.

Do your own regular IT backup and have that level of confidence such when data gets corrupted or lost, you know you can retrieve most, it not all of your data.  You may have experienced or seen people whose world seemed to have stopped after an incident. Doing your own periodic IT backups not only facilitates a smoother continuity of your work, but of your daily life after an incident as well.

What are you waiting for?

After reading this article, you would have realized or at least considered how important it is for you to conduct your own periodic IT backup.  Don’t wait for an incident to occur before you start doing periodic backups.  Don’t wait to hear of a friend or officemate whose digital information was lost and is suffering the consequences before you realize that you should start doing it. Don’t wait to be the one to utter the words… “Oh no, I did not make a backup!” followed by “I was gonna do my backup yesterday but…” Start doing your own periodic IT backup now.

(Reginald John “RJ” P. Javier  is a senior manager for Risk Advisory  of  Manabat & Sanagustin & Co., CPAs, a member firm of KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. This article is for general information only and is not intended to be, nor is it a substitute for, informed professional advice. While due care was exercised to ensure the quality of the information contained in this article, readers should carefully evaluate its accuracy, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances. For comments or inquiries, please email [email protected] or [email protected]).