EDITOR’ S QUESTION

ASLAM TAJBHAI, HEAD OF SOLUTIONS,

DMP SA

Data protection is not a one-time exercise but an ongoing process that requires continuous learning and adaptation. Organisations that prioritise education in data backup, disaster recovery, and cybersecurity will be well positioned to protect their most valuable asset: their data. In an era where digital threats evolve daily, knowledge is not just power, it is protection.

Data is the lifeblood of any organisation – it drives decision-making, supports innovation, and ensures business continuity. But with this reliance on digital solutions comes an increasing risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, and accidental loss, which can cripple a business overnight.

The key to mitigating these risks lies in ongoing education. By continuously training employees in data backup, disaster recovery planning, and cybersecurity awareness, businesses can build resilience, enhance their ability to prevent data loss, and respond effectively to crises.

One of the most effective ways to safeguard businesscritical data is through regular and secure backups. A well-structured backup strategy ensures that data is not only available when needed but also protected against cyber threats like ransomware.

The 3-2-1 backup strategy is a longstanding global best practice: maintaining three copies of data, stored in two different locations, with one immutable copy off-site. Another time-tested method is the grandfather-father-son backup policy, which retains daily, weekly, and monthly backups to ensure longterm data availability.

However, having a backup strategy is only effective if employees understand how it works and why it is essential. Organisations must invest in training staff to grasp the importance of backup frequency, encryption, and testing. Without regular testing, backups are non-existent – businesses must simulate real-world scenarios to verify that their recovery systems work as intended.

Data protection is not a one-time exercise but an ongoing process that requires continuous learning and adaptation.

Disaster Recovery planning is a critical component of any business reliance strategy, but a DR plan is more than just a static document. It is a lifeline when an organisation faces unexpected downtime or data loss.

Employees must be trained to classify data based on importance, prioritising critical systems, such as finance, customer databases, and operational infrastructure over less crucial ones. Understanding Recovery Time Objectives, RTOs, which represent how quickly data must be restored, and Recovery Point Objectives, RPOs, which are how much data loss is acceptable, ensures that organisations can recover efficiently after a crisis.

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