The Importance of a Backup and
Disaster Recovery for Remote Staff

Does your organization have employees who work remotely? Chances are, the answer is yes. From 2005 to 2018, remote employees grew by more than 170% and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. That trend is likely to continue even after the pandemic is alleviated.

The remote staff could save your business in the long term, as you can pay less and choose a smaller office. Many business professionals appreciate having the option and prefer to work remotely at least some of the time. After all, working from home offers flexibility as well as time.

However, there are disadvantages to having remote workers. You may find it more difficult to manage remote employees. They might also feel isolated from their colleagues. An even bigger potential danger is that remote workers increase the risk of data loss. This can be due to a data breach, malware, or even the loss of remote equipment from events like flooding and theft.

There are millions of additional devices connected to company networks from locations around the world. Based on this information having a BDR plan is more important to your business than ever. This is especially evident because home networks are more at risk of having an opening in security. Using work devices for personal activities also further increases the risk of a cybersecurity attack.

To help eliminate the risk, regularly review your company’s BDR plan to verify that your recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) are on target. Also, make sure you can execute them with your current BDR technologies.

If you have G Suite or Microsoft Office 365 and are using software as a service (SaaS) applications, your data may be backed up for just 30 days. Even then, there is no guarantee that it will be backed up. Consider conducting frequent backups of your remote workers’ devices to ensure that every employee’s data has been protected.

Also, make sure to maintain numerous copies of data that are stored on multiple devices and locations. Be sure to continuously replicate data to the cloud and other secure locations to protect your files and reduce the risk to data.  Make sure to check out the infographic below for more information on the importance of backup and disaster recovery.

 

Infographic created by MXOtech