If you’re not aware that data backup is important, you’ve obviously never owned a computer. The simple fact is that everyone needs to ensure data that matters to them is backed up or chances are it’s going to be lost at some point. Trust us; you really don’t want that to happen. But don’t stress, because improvements to data backup technology are making protecting your data simpler.
Effective data backup is even more vital for businesses, because no matter what the size or shape of the organization data loss means serious trouble. Financial trouble. Closing the business trouble in some cases. In the past, backup has been depressingly synonymous with expense and effort in ensuring the best-practice strategies are upheld. A necessary if vehemently begrudged evil. But data backup technology is in constant evolution and it’s becoming less of a hassle all the time. Each year it becomes easier, more affordable and more effective for businesses and individuals alike to secure the data that matters.
Let’s take a look at some of the latest data backup innovations that are changing the way you safeguard your data.
1. Storage capacity continues to laugh at Moore’s law with innovations including:
HDD:
Although HDD technology seemed to have plateaued over the past few years, it’s been back on track recently with a series of technological innovations either operational or in testing for deployment over the next few years.
This year, there are two different HDD developers offering 6TB storage capacity (the highest currently available and certainly nothing to sneeze at!) – HGST and Seagate. HGST achieved this by sealing helium into the drive enclosure to minimize friction on the spinning platters, allowing them to squeeze in 7 of them instead of the typical 5. Seagate’s technology, however, is even more exciting for the future of data backup.
They achieved their 6TB drive as a stepping stone towards their pledge to achieve 20TB by 2020 using Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR). This essentially means overlapping data tracks on the disk to increase track density and improve overall aerial density. And they’re also hammering out a few more tricks in the lab at the moment including heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), bit-patterned recording (BPR) and the introduction of giant magnetoresistance heads.
Another HDD tech that’s on the up and up comes in the form of Samsung’s wireless HDD, which could potentially allow multiple computers to back up to a single HDD without the need for physically moving it between each. While currently not really suited to data backup for business purposes due to a maximum capacity of 1.5TB, keep an eye on this technology because when combined with the other developments mentioned above it could mean big things in years to come.
SSD:
SSDs are also greatly improving by the day. Samsung recently released the world’s first commercially available 1TB SSD. While not staggering compared to other storage mediums, this shows that the data backup capabilities of SSDs are on the rise. While price is still another limitation at the moment, this will likely decline given time as well.
Tape:
We’ve already mentioned Sony’s new 185TB tape technology in a previous article, so we won’t drool over it again too much here. Seriously though… 185 terabytes per reel. Wow.
2. VM Centric data backup is improving by leaps and bounds
According to the 2014 Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT priorities survey, the two most pressing data backup and storage-related concerns for IT departments across Europe this year are virtual server backup and disaster recovery. So it’s hardly surprising that with such a strong consumer focus on VM centric data backup functions, the technology is striding ahead.
As more and more businesses rush to virtualization, the data backup industry has been steadily turning its focus to a more VM Centric approach. BackupAssist is no exception. We have a wealth of helpful articles explaining best practice Hyper-V backup using our software.
Advances in VM data backup technology have allowed for granular restore of data from within a guest, multiple guest machines in one backup, dynamic backups while the VM application is running and restore support for hosted applications such as Exchange and SQL. This area of data backup is exciting, so expect a whole lot more VM Centric advancements in the coming years!
3. Centralized Backup Management keeps making life easier
Centralized management is a godsend when it comes to data backup. Particularly when you’re running virtualized systems, backing up multiple systems or to different destinations. It’s fast becoming a must-have feature for any backup software. Again, BackupAssist included. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it essentially means you can monitor and manage your backups from one central location instead of having to manage backups on each computer individually.
Essentially, think of it as the difference between sending an email to everyone in your office, and running around whispering what you want to convey in each individual’s ear. The analogy holds up even better when you have offices in different states (or countries!).
Centralized Backup Management systems are critical when it comes to saving time and increasing the efficacy of your data backup strategy. They collate and summarize backup information, employing technologies that simplify secure communications across the internet. In essence, they make your life a whole lot simpler.
4. And the potential of a Hybrid Cloud strategy continues to grow…
And yes, last but not least, the potential of Cloud continues to grow unabated. Particularly when combined with other data backup techniques as part of a comprehensive hybrid strategy.
There’s plenty of information on Cloud floating around the internet. In fact you can barely open Google without being yelled at about the Cloud in one way or another, so we won’t go into it again here. But in essence the Cloud is an exciting new avenue for data backup that will only become increasingly prominent.
What new data backup tech has you the most excited?
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