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Because you’re entrusting critical data to a third party, due diligence is required to ensure that the backup provider you choose is reliable and financially secure. Otherwise, you might end up with a company that has sloppy data-protection habits or goes out of business.
Key Points
- Ask for references: When shopping for a provider, ask to speak with one or two customers who have used that provider.
- Ask for specifics about each provider’s storage facilities.
- Discuss pricing. Are there additional charges to the base price? Will the company notify you if you are nearing your allotted storage capacity, and how much do they charge if you exceed that capacity?
- If you hold sensitive, health-related data about your users, clients, patrons, or community members, you may want to consider whether you need to comply with privacy regulations for data related to federal HIPAA rules. Learn more about the topic from our article,
The following are some other important questions to ask:
- Has the provider built its own data centre, or do they co-locate with a third-party provider?
- What redundancy have they built into their system to ensure that your data will always be available? For instance, do they make backups of your backup?
- Will your information be kept on hard disk or moved to tape? How do they secure physical access to the equipment where data is stored?
- Will your data be stored in a secure facility?
- Who has network access to the machines that store your data?
- Does the backup provider automatically encrypt your data? (Some services recommend that you encrypt your own data before backup.)
- Does the provider offer a guarantee or insurance of a successful recovery?
These questions will help you avoid unpleasant surprises and ensure that copies of your critical information are secure and available.
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