Saving time and money... the ultimate goal. Uptime and SLAs are critical to hit. But really, bad things can happen – but if you're prepared, and can execute well when they do, you'll be fine.
Where are the people whose projects or mistakes cost too much? Or are delivered way after they're due? Not the same place as those who save time and money.Data backups have changed remarkably in the last decade. This was a place where saving time was almost impossible. The critical file is in the middle of the 385th cart in the ACS Silo? But the tape librarian sent it offsite yesterday by mistake? And the file's a week old?
Your backups were where you lost time, in business terms as well as straight admin. And where you spent massive amounts of money.But it’s a different world now. If your backup infrastructure hasn't been modernized, or your processes are the same as they've always been, the e-book linked below can start you thinking in new ways. Ways that will save you time and money. It also says you can impress your boss too. That's cool.
The book is general enough to apply to any backup environment, regardless of your existing infrastructure or processes. This is a bigger story than speeds and feeds. There are 5 key approaches that can get you started, with real-world examples.
- Determine your true SLAs. Not all servers or applications are equal. Focus your time and money where it’s most needed.
- Simplify your deployment and management. Start thinking about purpose-built appliances that will do it all out of the box.
- Research your licensing options. Be versatile, there's no leverage for lock-in any more. So know what you have, and will have, and make point decisions if that's best.
- New technologies that can save you time. Where was source side deduplication 10 years ago when you had a T1 line? It’s ubiquitous now, and can just plug in.
- Don't forget about scalability. Don't get caught scrambling to catch up.
Put together, the five best practices outlined here won’t solve all your work-related challenges, but they will help chip away at one of your biggest ones: saving time and money.
