There's an old saying in IT... a backup is worthless if you don't regularly check it and try to restore from it.
With so many companies now outsourcing their servers to the cloud - either Amazon, Google or Microsoft - it is easy to become complacent and assume that backups are automatically done and checked. In most cases, though, this won't be the case and the cloud server provider will only offer a backup and restore service for an extra fee. If you're not paying that fee, you probably don't have a backup!
For our asbestos software (Alpha Tracker) clients, if we have organised the hosting in Amazon or Fasthosts for you we will also be backing up your data and we will be testing those backups, typically monthly. We are now writing to our clients every quarter to confirm the backup situation so that there is no doubt or potential for confusion.
However, if you have organised your own in-house server, or are paying Amazon or Fasthosts yourself for a cloud server, do not assume that "someone" will be backing up your server and regularly checking it can be restored. Check your arrangements as a matter of urgency and make doubly sure that your backup is in place and secure.
If you need any help or advice, please do contact Elaine in the office and she will be able to assist.
Great customer feedback x 3!
Three emails just arrived one after the other - and each put a smile on our faces and a spring in our step! Feedback #1... "We smashed our audit! Thank you so much for your help" from a new customer where we have been providing Alpha Five support and mentoring to help them to develop an Intranet quality & audit system Feedback #2... "hi Tom. It looks fantastic! Very well done" from a client reviewing the latest changes to a web data analysis system we have written using Alpha Anywhere , SQL Server and JavaScript Feedback #3... " The launch of Alpha Tracker here is going really well ... thank you so much" from an asbestos consultancy feeling the benefits of their Alpha Tracker asbestos software installation. We really appreciate it when customers take the time to send us feedback like this - it makes the hard work seem worthwhile!
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