April 2016 Newsletter

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What's New

CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has once again recognized DP Solutions as one of the top Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) in the nation. For the third year in a row, we have been named to CRN’s 2016 Managed Service Provider 500 list in the Elite 150 category.  This annual list recognizes North American solution providers with cutting-edge approaches to delivering managed services whose top-notch offerings help companies navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of IT, improve operational efficiencies, and maximize their return on IT investments. 

Will Your Backups Be There When You Need Them?

When the livelihood of your business depends on data stored in your computer network, you simply cannot afford to leave anything to chance. Data preservation and the ability to retrieve it at any point in time is the foundation of business continuity.

Yet the facts about backup failures
are shocking:

• According to the Boston Computing Network, 31% of PC users have lost data due to events “beyond their control.”
• Analysts at the Hughes Marketing Group found that 40% of businesses that experience a critical IT failure go out of business within one year.
• In a recent Gartner study, only 35% of backup tests were successful.

Some of the more common reasons for backup failures include unintentional formatting of a hard drive, accidental data deletion, malware or virus attack, firmware corruption, natural disasters, logical errors and continued computer operation when the hard drive is starting to fail.

So how certain are you that your backup system is 100% reliable? Could a false sense of security be preventing you from taking actions that will insure your backups will really be there when you need them?

7 Ways to Avoid Data Disaster Due To Backup Failure

Without proactive measures in place – and Murphy’s Law being what it is – the odds of a successful restoration when you need it most may not be as great as you’d like to think… So what can you do? Here are seven ways to avoid a damaging loss of data due to backup failure.

1. Insist on regular, remote and redundant processes. A good rule of thumb is 3-2-1. That means three copies of your data stored in two off-site locations, backed up a minimum of one time per day.
2. Don’t go too cheap on disk drives. Less expensive arrays that save money by doing without features like redundant power supply and hot spare disks may leave your data
   at risk.
3. Guard against human error. Make sure people performing backups and restores know exactly what to do – and what not to do. Take people out of the loop and automate wherever possible. And be especially cautious in situations where backups aren’t a part of someone’s regular duties.
4. Are your backup software settings being checked routinely? When new software or updates are put into service, a change in the way the settings are configured can cause incomplete backups, or backups that fail completely. Do the people who maintain your backups include this on their regular to-do list?
5. Could some files be getting left out? As resources are added and priorities shift, files and folders can get misplaced or accidentally left off the backup list. Insist on a quarterly or annual meeting with your backup management team to make sure all mission-critical files are included in your organization’s data recovery systems.
6. Address network issues immediately. Any component in your network that isn’t working properly can introduce another point of failure in your backup process. Every juncture in your network, from a misconfigured switch to a flaky host bus adapter, can hurt your backups.
7. Ask for help with your data backup and recovery system. You cannot be expected to be an expert in all things. Yet data is the backbone of your business – its protection and recovery should not be left to chance. Why not leverage the knowledge, skill and experience of an expert in
   the field?

Even with all these measures in place, the best way to keep your organization safe from harm due to data loss is to verify your backup system by performing regular test restores. This will help identify any problems in advance so they can be fixed – allowing you to avoid getting hit with an ugly surprise when you least need it.

The Smart Way To Assure Backup Success
Unless your team has all the time and expertise required to consistently close all open loops in your backup system, your organization may be at risk of serious harm due to data loss.

We strongly recommend that you let us perform a Free Backup Audit for you as soon as possible. Get this highly valuable service – before disaster strikes— by calling us at  410-720-3300 or visiting www.dpsolutions.com/backup-audit. 

Guest Article

An Army of Lions

Mark Sanborn

In my book You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference, I quote Philip of Macedonia (father of Alexander the Great), who said, “An army of deer led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by a deer.”

His insight is valuable – however, I think he misses the bigger point: an army of lions led by a lion is to be feared most of all. So why not recruit and hire an army of lions? Think of the competitive advantage of having not just good formal leadership at the top of your organization, but also having leaders at every level of your organization.

An army of lions is an organization where everyone knows two things:

1. When is it appropriate for me to lead in my role?
2. How do I do it?

Those two questions are simple, but the process requires effort. And, you’re thinking, “before I can help my lions answer those two questions, I need to find the lions!”

Your point is well-taken. And, believe it or not, it’s not that difficult to find
the lions.

The Principles

Here are some important guidelines to use when looking for potential leaders:

1. Look for people who are just as interested in making a difference as they are in making money. Unless you’re interviewing someone for a volunteer position, they expect to be paid. While pay should be fair, it’s an incomplete motivator for a job candidate with leadership potential. Potential leaders want to do work that matters. It isn’t unusual to find people pursuing success, but leaders also pursue significance. Look for the latter.
   
   
2. Find candidates who have proven that they have influence with people and they’ll be able to get results even if they never have “power” over people. The ability to positively influence others is essential for a leader. If someone can’t motivate, inspire or move others without a title, then the only way they’ll get results with people once they have a title is through absolute compliance. True leaders have the ability to create commitment in others with or without authority over them.
   
   
3. Potential leaders are looking for more than perks and benefits; they’re looking for opportunities. The benefits a potential leader desires should be more than economic. Getting to learn new things, develop new skills, be challenged, participate in a variety of experiences and explore true potential are usually the types of benefits that rev up potential leaders. Look for people who light up when you mention these types of opportunities.
   
   
4. Spend time inquiring into the candidate’s desired legacy, and not just their stated résumé. Any hire has long-term consequences for both employer and employee, regardless of the length of the employee’s tenure. Understanding a candidate’s values can be complex, but your most valuable insights will come from finding out what his or her endgame is.