Outsmart Murphy. Transition should trigger backup review.

As the U.S. prepares for inauguration of the 44th president, we can all learn a lesson from the transition process that seems to be going smoothly in Washington D.C. Transition of key personnel in any organization can provide an excellent opportunity to review the many vital areas of the organizations, re-set baselines and take inventory of the valuables.

Transition periods also provide Murphy (of Murphy's Law) with an excellent time to damage an organization. With regard to computer data, transitions of hardware can be as risky as transition of personnel. In either case, critical digital records that are required for the daily operations of a business can be lost, stolen or corrupted, leaving the business or organization in chaos.

DataPreserve recommends that that you perform a backup review for transitions of any sort. A backup review entails:

• a review of the type and location of data that critical to the organization
• a full backup and test of the backup (to validate that the data can actually be restored)
  
• a clear understanding of who knows the passwords for access and encryption
• confirmation that those passwords are stored safely

For any type of physical transition, replacing computers or moving office locations, there is no substitute for online backup and storage to provide to peace of mind that Murphy is being held at bay.