Most companies understand the staggering risk involved in losing access to their data and have some kind of backup arrangement in place. The problem is that, most often, the backup data is also stored in the same premises. This can enable data recovery when an individual digital storage device like a hard disk fails but is totally useless in cases of natural or man-made disasters.



A variety of disasters can strike a location anytime ? earthquakes, floods, fire, terrorist strike, weather phenomena like cyclones and storms and even theft. In these cases, where the entire building can get gutted, inundated or collapsed, the original data and its backup located in the same premises are totally destroyed. Consequently, the organisation would be staring at two calamities at the same time ? the first which destroyed the building and another that is going to unfold in the next few days because no critical data can be recovered from its computers.

An example of how a disaster can strike unannounced is the infamous 9/11 terrorist incident which triggered the collapse of the twin World Trade Centres. Such an eventuality would not have crossed anyone's mind. The companies suffered total data loss and many folded up as they couldn't recover from the setback.

The companies which are most likely to be crippled and go belly up due to complete data loss are in areas like healthcare, banking, insurance and brokerage. Research institutes, airlines and accounting firms also depend heavily on computers and data storage.

Data Recovery

In data recovery, the damaged storage media that contains the data is accessed using specially made tools and software, and the data needed by the customer is retrieved. This is a crucial and specialised process. A mutli-million dollar industry has cropped up in recent years that specialises in recovering data that all thought lost from a variety of devices like memory sticks, hard disks, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, pen drives and even mobile phones.

A data storage device may become damaged due to software (logical) failure or hardware (mechanical) failure. The former includes cases where data gets accidentally deleted, virus attack, reformatting of magnetic surface or corruption of file system and partitions of a hard disk. In cases of hardware failure, the components of the data storage device get physically damaged, like by dropping to the ground, water, fire and so on.

In either case, the device cannot be read by normal means and does not respond to user requests for access. Such devices are brought to what is called a Clean Room. It is an enclosed space with filtered air that has negligible dirt particles. Dust-sensitive storage devices like hard-disk platters can safely be exposed in it for processing. The surface which is holding the data is then read minutely and the data is recovered by a variety of special equipment.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery entails a company getting back on its feet after its location has been hit by a disaster like fire, flood or earthquake. When critical data is lost this way, professional data recovery companies are called in. These retrieve the damaged data storage devices from the client's premises and process them in a clean room to recover the data they contain.

But this is a hit-and-miss process. In many cases, data is not recoverable ? like after the 9/11 tragedy ? because the digital storage devices are nowhere to be found. Sometimes, they are too far gone to afford any meaningful data recovery. The same is the case when a theft takes place and the thieves clean up the entire premises.

The only way to make oneself fool-proof against data loss due to disaster is by going in for remote or offsite data storage. In this, the data is stored at one or many locations far away from the client's location. Sometimes, the data backup may be stored even in another continent!

Remote data backup is offered by specialist companies that rent out space on their servers for your data. The software that is loaded on to the computers running at your premises automatically takes backup at the appointed time and uploads the data to the backup server that is sitting miles away for safe storage. The entire process is automatic and the users do not even get to realise that backup is being taken from their computer while they are busy working.

A data safety plan that is built around offsite backup has now become almost essential for organisations which can be crippled if they lose their data. Data loss due to man-made or natural disaster is a huge risk few organisations are willing to take. Offsite backup is the perfect way to ensure that they can bounce back in no time with their data intact even if a disaster has hit their location.