Data storage and disaster recovery: be prepared. And be prepared now.

• Author: Colby, Kent L.

Media brings attention to identity theft, lost laptops containing million of veterans' personal information, and the vulnerability of it all. Perhaps a more pertinent issue in a day when most every business stores all its records electronically is data storage, disaster recovery, and the management of said data. Business continuity is not often associated with disaster recovery. When, in fact, they share many common features. Proper information management must, by its very nature, address disaster recovery, information management and business continuity. In a nutshell: data storage.

Backup and recovery have been with us since the beginning of the written word. Once a piece of data is recorded--be it the Alaska State Constitution, a Shakespeare folio or critical client records--how it is protected so it can be recovered and consulted as needed is the mandate of any business in business. The threat of loss is imminent for electronic data.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) for the private sector and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for government agencies and vendors clearly address data storage, security, stability and recovery.

Data storage is the requirement of today's corporate culture. The responsibility is clear and obvious even without the government mandates and requirements. And, planning is key.

Professional service companies, such as Structured Communications Systems based in the Pacific Northwest and with offices in Anchorage, assist businesses in building successful technology strategies, systems and processes. The main goal is to address enterprise security, connectivity and access, as well as storage systems.

No Business is Immune

The threat of lost data runs through all sizes of business. Enterprise and mid-market are particularly affected because of the volume of data and pressures of compliance, governance and litigation pressures. Small business is hardly immune. Business survival can depend on dependable and consistent backup and recovery operations.

It can happen to anyone or any business, and does. Ensuring that employees don't lose information that can compromise the mission of the business or agency or that of the customer is extremely important. After all, employees are human and occasionally do something stupid. And, businesses are made of employees, from the top down.

There is plenty of technology out there to protect data; managing the people handling the data is tough. Fortunately, the...