Backup at Work: Actions Speak Louder than Words
Do people really back up their data – or are they just saying they do? Even in today’s world of huge capacity drives and immediately accessible online backup, you’d be amazed at the number of users who simply don’t back up their data. While this may be regrettable at home, it’s unacceptable at work. Teams can’t function properly if team members lose information. And promises to do it ‘tomorrow’ (bad) or ‘as soon as possible’ (worse) just don’t cut it. But what’s the solution to get everybody doing their backups instead of just talking about it?
The Terrible Consequences
Sales people know that prospects only buy if they are feel motivated or threatened (but not by the sales people!). In other words, there are two ways to convince people to do something. The first is through the positive consequences of taking action. The second is through the negative consequences of doing nothing. For ‘selling’ backup, it’s often the negative side that gets the attention: the irreparable loss of data, damage to professional reputation and even the inability for the company to function – with the additional threat of going out of business permanently.
Carrots as well as Sticks
However, while you can dangle these unpleasant consequences in front of your colleagues to get them into a backup frame of mind, remember the positive incentives too. A good online backup solution can offer possibilities of file synchronization between devices such as desktop PCs and smartphones. Users can discover the advantages of being able to access their files whenever they have an Internet connection. Turning up at a customer site without vital files onto your laptop is no longer a problem: simply download the latest synchronized copy over the web and you’re set to go.
Steer Them in the Right Direction
People also need to do backup properly. Using a stand-alone disk connected via a USB cable to a desktop PC may show enthusiasm, but it suffers from two drawbacks. Firstly, if a disaster like a fire destroys the PC, it will destroy the stand-alone disk sitting next to it too. Secondly, just copying over complete contents of a hard disk each time is unwieldy and ultimately unmanageable. You end up with multiple images of your directories and files, and searching for a particular revision can be cumbersome. For users worried about losing access to previous versions of files, many online backup and file storage systems now offer versioning so that previous versions of files remain available.
Taking the Initiative
It’s great to get everybody aware and involved in online backup. Nevertheless and as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Even with patient explanation and assistance, some people just can’t seem to make the move. To protect your enterprise, possibly also to comply with regulations, you may end up simply installing online backup software on all company PCs and systems, and configuring it to correctly safeguard data. Many online backup providers offer service packs adapted to businesses and multiple users. Once you’ve taken action, let the others know. There’s a good chance you’ll hear a collective sigh of relief, now that they no longer have that nagging worry about irretrievably losing their precious information.
