There is a huge difference between data backups and data archives. Despite common belief, archiving storage is NOT the same as a backup. However, they are often confused.
Backups typically represent a full copy of data taken and stored elsewhere. They are usually done regularly to ensure data recovery in the event of a disaster. Before you get a new phone, you backup your existing one so your new phone will have everything you need. Archiving is for the long-term storage of data that is not typically needed every day. Back to the new phone example, you wouldn’t include your 2017 family vacation photos in your disaster backup, but would more likely archive them.
Archiving your data to the cloud benefits you and your customers greatly. Not only will it reduce primary storage consumption, but also the costs related to it. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as ‘unlimited’ when it comes to storage. And depending on the industry your customers are in, their regulator compliance will be different for how long they must store data.
WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN ARCHIVING DATA
Establish Rules!
You can not save EVERYTHING. Especially when the volume of the data that you must save is huge. It is good to establish rules depending on the age, type, or ease of access to the data. Doing so will change your organization’s approach to storing its current data and will help you realize what is accessible.
When establishing rules, one thing to keep in mind is time. How long must you store this data? How long will you need it to be easily accessible? Let’s say you are working in the legal industry. Different states require you to keep client information for X amount of years. Some of your clients are ‘one and done,’ and you no longer need to access their files. Instead of keeping them on your local archived storage, you can move them to a media disk or separate data storage to free up space on the cloud.
Don’t Treat All Data the Same.
Different information has different needs and requirements, especially when managing many customers who work in various industries. If you have one customer working in the healthcare industry and another in the hospitality industry, both have different requirements. Most likely, your healthcare clients must store a lot more information for a lot longer.
When you understand the needs and requirements of your customers, you can better price and allocate their resources. It should also be noted that depending on the industry your customers are in, they may have different provider standards for their data.
Who’s the boss?
An individual or team of individuals must be in charge of archiving data. Only authorized users should have access to the archived documents. That way, the correct users will be held accountable if the file is not archived correctly.
Setting proper expectations and providing clear directions will ensure all team members have an easier time complying with the archiving rules and regulations.
WHAT MAKES BICOM ARCHIVING STORAGE (BAS) SO GOOD?
The BAS service offers archiving storage for PBXware’s Remote Storage feature for call recordings, voicemails, faxes, and, coming soon, CDRs. Archiving can be managed individually per VPS and/or per domain. BAS is a scalable, high-speed, web-based cloud storage service exclusive for our Partners.
The BAS GUI of the archives menu item is beautifully crafted in a graphical view. It only makes sense to store your data with the same provider who is collecting it!
Are you interested in learning more about Bicom Archiving Storage? Check out the official release notes of SERVERware 4.1 here.
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