You should've backed up
It's critical, especially with storms coming
By Tiana Velez

ARIZONA DAILY STAR ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Published: 07.11.2005

Imagine losing all your business's customer information, product orders, sales receipts and accounting data in an instant.

Can you put a price on how much that data is worth to your business? How long could your company survive without it?

Data storage is but one component of a company's computer network maintenance. Whether you choose to copy your files onto a removable hard drive, burn them onto CDs or save them to a separate server, information technology consultants agree that having a backup is critical for any business.

The monsoon is coming, bringing lightning strikes and power outages - both capable of causing permanent damage to your company's computer system.

"This time of year, we get calls after every storm, and the unfortunate ones are those that were preventable," said Gene Hechler, president and owner of Genger & Associates in Tucson, which specializes in computer network technology.

When lightning struck Arizona Honda's former building on South Alvernon Way a couple of years ago, the dealership was able to recover quickly since its most important data had recently been saved during a routine backup. Hechler and his team used the backup copy to restore the computer system.

"They (Genger) took me from panicking to calm in minimal time," said Debi Matte, the information technology administrator at Arizona Honda. Matte found the damaged equipment after the lightning storm.

Matte is responsible for maintaining the business' 30-plus computer workstations, but contracts with Genger to build the network and handle repairs.

Hechler recommends for all his clients a battery backup device, known as an uninterruptible power source, or UPS, to protect against lightning and blackouts.

Resembling a large surge protector, the UPS is designed to absorb the impact of a lightning strike or, in case of a sudden outage, provide enough residual power to the computer so the user can safely shut it down.

Prices range from $39.99 for a basic home model up to $830 for a Smart-UPS design, which will send signals to the computer to save open documents before powering down. Most can be purchased at stores such as CompUSA, Target, Sam's Club or through a firm such as Genger & Associates.

But Mother Nature isn't the only culprit that can bring down a computer network. Equipment theft, viruses and user error all contribute to data loss.

When the primary server at the Tucson law firm Slosser, Hudgins, Struse & Freund PLC shut down two years ago, it almost caused a nightmare.

Computers aren't immortal, and the failure of the firm's primary server "was pretty much inevitable," said attorney Craig Wisnom. "It wasn't that it (the data) was exposed. It was just that we couldn't access it."

Slosser Hudgins, however, was able to use a backup copy of the firm's data, which it later transferred to the new server.

Depending on the size and importance of the data you work with, your business's data storage needs will likely differ.

Kim Pinaire, owner of Texas-based Engraft Inc., would like to see a shift away from using CDs as the primary method of data storage.

With CDs, "You never know what's on them. They're usually so poorly marked and they end up in a drawer. If the CD gets scratched, which they do, you've lost your data," she said, speaking from her home in Tucson, one of Engraft's satellite offices.

Smaller businesses or home-based enterprises can likely get by using an external hard drive, such as a Zip drive, Pinaire said.

One thing IT experts agree on is, regardless of your backup schedule or method, is that it's important to make a habit of storing data somewhere off-site, away from the place of business.

Theft of equipment or a catastrophic fire to your company's building would make your daily backup routine useless if the saved information is lost as well. If a copy is kept off-site, there's still a chance your data is retrievable.

A number of companies can automatically store your data on a secure server, making the process more convenient for small-business owners, Pinaire said.

That means no more trips to the off-site location to drop off discs. And because the process is automated, you needn't worry that you'll miss an important backup.

Business owners know it's good to back up their data, Pinaire added. "But if it's time- consuming or complicated, they don't do it. It's like exercise and eating healthy. You know it's good for you, but if it's not convenient, you'll find yourself eating fast food and you've skipped your workout."


Small firms also need to maintain security

Recent attention on computer technology has focused on the security threats consumers potentially face while surfing the Internet and on security problems at large firms.

Hackers and data thieves, however, don't limit themselves to individuals and large companies.

Small and midsize businesses are also prime targets, and the threats don't always reside outside the business. When a breach occurs, the consequences can mean more than financial loss.

Three weeks ago, the local office of the Atlanta firm CardSystems Solutions Inc. made national headlines when its software was hacked into, compromising the account information of 40 million credit-card holders.

Later, CardSystems announced it would update its security software.

Generally in the United States, security breaches such as those suffered by CardSystems are on the decline, according to a 2004 survey by the San Francisco FBI office and the Computer Security Institute of San Jose, Calif.

But the authors of the survey add this caveat: While the numbers appear low, it's probably because businesses aren't reporting security breaches for fear of negative publicity or concern that competitors will use such news to harm their businesses.

Topping the list of intrusions were viruses, which cost those surveyed more than $55 million in lost time and data. Also making the list of security violations were theft of proprietary information, abuse of wireless networks, insider Internet abuse, laptop theft and Web site defacement.

IT experts staunchly support anti-virus software and firewalls as basic protection.

If your information is stolen, "chances are your business is going to have a difficult time recovering from that," said Sean Mackey, owner of ITS Networks LLC in Tucson.

To help prevent virus attacks or security breaches, Mackey suggested training employees on how to deal with potential security violations. Some topics to consider: what to do in case you receive a suspicious e-mail, how to handle computer files coming from outside the business, and the status of the firewall you employ.

Kim Pinaire of Engraft Inc., which has a satellite office in Tucson, also recommends using combination passwords instead of actual words and numbers - A45u2h3, for example, instead of computer11.

The rule is, "If it's in the dictionary, don't use it," she said.

Contact reporter Tiana Velez at 434-4083 or tvelez@azstarnet.com.

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