The Basics of Disaster Recovery

Tornadoes, fires, hurricanes earthquakes and other disasters can strike a data centre in an instance with hardly any warning. The determining factor between saving enough of the information and being able to rebuild a company and having to start all over again from nothing is the solidarity of your disaster recovery plan. If you do not have a solid plan for recovery after a disaster, you are risking your entire business by taking the chance that nothing is ever going to go wrong. If you know anything about running a business than you know that betting on everything to be all right all of the time is not a safe bet.

The first thing you need to do is identify all of the important parts of your system. Make it a habit every day to make a complete copy of the three main areas of your system, your operating system, critical applications and the data itself. Be sure to keep the hardware you need to run these copies within easy access. Write down detailed instructions on how to recovery your system and store it somewhere away from the main site. Test your copy to make sure everything is correct then store the copy off site away from the main business. You should have alternative data transmission accessibility and an alternate source of power. There are many other precautions to take, but the basics are better than nothing for your disaster recovery plan.

Computer Leasing: Is it Just for Businesses?

By now we’ve all witnessed how quickly computer technology can change. Computers seem out-of-date after just two years or so. This can be very frustrating for anyone who uses a computer for more than just a couple hours per week. Many businesses have somewhat solved this problem by leasing computer hardware and updating or replacing as often as is needed.

I say “somewhat solved” because, unfortunately, this leads to an ongoing cost. When we talk of computer leasing, we have to remember that the lessee will probably never outright own the equipment (hence the ongoing costs). This can be an acceptable deficit, though, for a business that absolutely must stay on top of technology.

Are there PC leasing options available to regular, non-business consumers? Yes and no. It appears that leasing a computer for the non-business consumer is usually listed as computer rental or for hire. Some companies may also be able to offer their employees deals as “end users” by leasing the computers at a group or company rate.

When is it a good idea to lease, hire, or rent a computer or laptop? Perhaps when you’re going on holiday or when you want to try before you buy. After all, it’s pretty much expected that you’ll test drive a car first, right? So why not try out the computer you’re interested in? This could be especially useful if you’re switching from a Windows PC to, say, and Apple mac. Why not lease the mac for a while to make sure it’ll suit your needs?

No matter if you’re looking for leasing options for just yourself, or for a company, there are options available. Good advice is to do a bit of comparison before you commit to which place you’d like to hire from.