Data is the foundation of every financial industry business no matter the company’s size and a vital, irreplaceable asset; however, this asset is being threatened. As a result of looming disasters (i.e., erratic weather, terrorist activities), pressure resulting from government regulations, viruses and equipment failure, data protection has become the critical component in a company’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

Today, every financial business needs uninterrupted operation and immediate recoverability of data. Technology has made it possible, also, for employees to conduct business from virtually anywhere in the world. Faced with "zero tolerance" for disruption, they have no choice but to look outside the box for recovery solutions. This becomes even more magnified when dealing with the rules associated with global financial trading which now occurs around the clock. Access to banking applications 24x7 is simply expected. Continuous uptime is paramount, and if disruptions occur, the recovery of data must be immediate, when and where it is required. Businesses may risk financial losses, as well as operational setbacks, customer complaints and compliance consequences.

With its ability to quickly and efficiently perform backup and recovery, online backup is responding to the demands of today’s businesses in these uncertain times. The uncomfortable reality is that many businesses suffer from insufficient backup procedures, e.g., backup that isn’t done every day, tapes that are left exposed.

Online backup, or more correctly, electronic vaulting, entered the market in the mid 1980s but didn’t really launch until the World Wide Web entered the scene. Only then did it catch the attention of IT professionals responsible for safeguarding mission-critical data. Online backup eliminates many typical backup headaches by doing local backup and offsite protection simultaneously. The ability to automate backup and immediately send data offsite to a secure vault, with multiple copies in geographically dispersed locations with a click of a mouse, is now a reality and the most innovative, cost-effective and reliable solution on the market today. Within financial markets, recoverability or, how fast can I easily overcome the effects of a disaster, is the primary element in business continuity.

Whenever an innovative idea threatens to replace the status quo, myths evolve.

Myth One: Online backup is too expensive.
The primary business remains the financial market core competencies, not IT work dictating what can and cannot be done. Initially it may appear that this technology is costly; however, by comparing it to a tape backup scenario we see that it is actually cost-efficient.

Online backup actually saves money in the long-run by eliminating the direct and indirect costs associated with other backup methods, such as hardware, software licenses, tapes, tape drives, labor, and offsite courier and tape storage services. In addition, since online backup is an automated process, human error – commonly cited as one of the top causes for backup/restore failure – is eliminated as well. Online backup eliminates all of these traditional cost factors, creating process efficiencies.

Consider downtime and the loss of money and reputation it can bring. Analyst firm International Data Corp. (IDC) estimates that companies lose an average of $84,000 for every hour of downtime. However, your business does not have to be in the Fortune 1000 to feel the financial crunch from data loss. As pointed out earlier in this paper, many tapes are not readable come time to conduct a restore.

What if a single, significant restore is needed from tape and your business is down for two hours? A company could expect to spend the following based on average industry and analysts estimates.

Many businesses will need to restore data several times throughout the year. Even if your business does not experience substantial downtime, there is significant ROI from online backup. Automated, point-and-click restores when you need them will result in significant resource savings, and keep your business running smoothly. And, while more intangible, there is the peace of mind gained from working with a trusted online backup service provider and knowing that business-critical data is securely stored off-site and immediately available.

Myth Two: Data is not secure over the Internet.
Online backup utilizes the most secure, commercially available encryption technology. Encrypted data is sent over the Internet during backup or restore transfer. While stored, the data remains encrypted until deciphered on the client side. Online backup provides more security than storing unencrypted data tapes in a remote vault. Also, the solution set for online backups continually updates the platform with the most advanced encryption techniques available to financial markets.

Myth Three: Online backup can't handle large amounts of data.
Handling large amounts of data over relatively small bandwidth is a popular feature of online backup. An initial backup or "seed" of the server's data is extracted. Delta processing technology then seeks out updated portions of changed files, so that only the fragmented change of data is sent to the vault. Large-volume, highly redundant disk digital repositories store the data online, securely in remote data centers. Data can be recovered quickly online, while very large data sets can be shipped to the user on a mobile vault within a few hours. If the amount of data is significant, then private line connectivity can be provided to increase the speed of backup to the repository.

Factors for Evaluating Vendors
Before choosing an online technology provider, weigh the following technology and cost considerations and do not be shy about asking the tough questions. If they are to be your trusted partner, learn upfront their capabilities and cost structure.

What to look for:
• ‑Automated and unattended backups with the ability to backup open files and open databases
• ‑Ability to centrally manage the backup and restore process from one or more locations
• ‑Control of files and directories to be backed up, with file-filtering capabilities
• ‑Secure, Tier-1 facility
• ‑Spontaneous file restores 24x7x365 via end user or central administrator control
• ‑No special hardware requirements or changes to your network
• ‑Ability to restore data either over the network or via a dedicated storage device
• ‑Customizable data retention schedules
• ‑Data encryption while data is stored on the storage array and during transmission over private or public networks
• ‑Automatic restart and resume capabilities for handling a variety of network conditions
• ‑Automatic notification of exceptions and problems encountered
• ‑Detailed usage reporting capabilities

An Inevitable Evolution
Despite myths surrounding online backup, it is fast becoming the backup standard, having proven to be a fundamental component of business continuity and disaster recovery plans. As a result, financial organizations are re-tailoring their plans to include online backup.

Disasters and loss of data are inevitable, as is online backup. Organizations that wait until disaster strikes to implement more efficient means of backing up their most valuable asset could find their existence threatened. Can your company afford to take that risk?

Edward Wachowicz is a Product Manager at RCN Metro Optical Networks, 212-324-5037;
email: ed.wachowicz@rcn.net; web: www.rcnmetro.com.