First Paper - Data Disrespect

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Here is the first paper I wrote for my graduate degree. The overall concept is that space for data is too cheap and users don't manage data storage space safely.

Let me know what you think.

The pdf is at:

DataDisrespect.pdf

DATA DISRESPECT

Statement of the environment

To paraphrase the comedian Rodney Dangerfield, “Data gets no respect, no respect at all.” By disrespect I mean data backup, security, and storage management issues are largely ignored by micro business users. There is a corollary to Parkinson’s Law that says, Data expands to fill the available space. The expansion of storage capacity and data to fill it is the source of this disrespect,

We will explore the rapidly falling price of data storage in a very short amount of time and the just as rapid change in storage methods, from the soft floppy disks of just a few years ago, to multi-Terabyte hard drives of today. The consequences of these changes and dangers are not recognized by most micro business mangers. We will conclude with a data management methodology, scaled down from “big” business, but still understandable, manageable, and probably most important, affordable.

What is a Micro Business?

Micro business has many definitions relating to levels of annual revenue, sources of capital and number of employees. For purposes of this article, a Micro Business will be defined as a business with fewer than five employees, five to seven computers, including laptops, and no central server. The majority of such firms are sole proprietors with one or two computers. The key element is the lack of centrally managed data storage. While there may be a network to share Internet access, the employees do not share or store data in a central place, but rather files are kept on each individual’s machine.  Individual files such as spreadsheets and Word documents may be copied over the network, but not to a managed storage area.

The Explosion in Data Storage Capacity

          The first personal computers had crude or no data storage at all. Initial machines used cassette tape systems to record programs, but data was rekeyed with every run of the program. This quickly changed with the advent of the diskette. A portion of our consulting business deals with data conversion from one format or media type to another.  We still have a shrink wrapped box of 5¼ - 3M Brand diskettes (and also have a machine with a disk drive to read them). The formatted capacity of each diskette is 360 kilobytes. A box of 10 diskettes typically cost $20. At that rate one gigabyte (1 billion bytes) of storage would cost $55,555 !!!

           On the website for CDW Corporation (CDW Corpration, 2009), a firm specializing in computer supplies for small and micro businesses, a 1.5 Terabyte disk drive lists for $133. That’s $ .08 per gigabyte. This explosion of capacity at very inexpensive prices is both a benefit and problem for Micro business.

Discussion

          Have you ever lived in a house that has a large basement? Most people ask the question “Is it possible Will I need this item in the future? Maybe.. then put it in the basement.  I’ll clean it out someday.” They take the same approach with data on their computer. Will I ever need this document or spreadsheet?? ..ok, save it to the hard drive. New subdirectories are created. Filenames are reused and confused with names similar ones used before. Performance and efficiency are degraded.

         

Data becomes stale after a period of time, but because the data capacity of current drives is so large, items are kept long beyond their useful lives. The amount of data becomes so large that the task of backing up the data takes longer and longer, if it is done at all.

          To get a perspective on how large these storage places are, see Figure 1

Size            Data File            Photos          Songs         Videos       
                     @100k           @3.5 MB      @4MB       @12GB/Hr 
160 GB     2,500,000            46,000          40,000           13 hrs
320 GB     3,200,000            91,000          80,0000         26 hrs
640 GB     6,400,000           182,000        160,000          52 hrs
1 TB         10,000,000            285,000        250,000         76 hrs

                                                             Figure 1

These capacity numbers are hard for most people to fathom. Can I keep this much data? On a pure data drive, the answer is, Yes. Most single drive machines however will have significant amount of space used for the operating system and program files and reduce the amount of space available for data somewhat.

          The constant increases in available storage capacity causes users to “disrespect” the data they accumulate over time. With the exponential growth in data storage capacity at ever decreasing prices, users treat their important data files like they will always be there for immediate use. A typical laptop today has 160 gigabytes of available storage; desktop systems may have twice that with the potential to add on portable storage devices exceeding two Terabytes.

Dangers  of Disrespect    

Most Micro business owners have heard that they should be backing up their data, but it’s just too much trouble or they don’t have time. But how much time will be lost if the data was not available when the computer does not reboot in the morning or the computer is not there because of a disaster like theft or fire or flood? Disasters come in many forms.

          In a recent survey, 59 percent of IT executives said that the volume of data they have to backup is disrupting business operations or will do so eventually (Backup Data Dogging Business, 2008).  An article in The Information Management Journal refers to a 2002 U.S. Bureau of Labor study showing “93 percent of companies that experience significant data loss go out of business within five years.” (Swartz, 2003).

          It’s not if your hard drive will fail, but when. An article on StorageReview.com said, “The service life of a modern hard disk is usually about three to five years. In my opinion, what the manufacturer is telling you with this number is this: ‘If your drive gives you good service for this length of time without any trouble, you've gotten good value from it and you should consider getting a new drive if reliability is important to you; the drive isn't going to fail the instant it hits this age, but the chances of it failing will increase significantly the longer you use it past this point.”’ (Storage Review, 2005)

A typical emergency call in our consulting business is: “We have a computer in the office that will not start. There is an important file on the computer that we need as soon as possible. Can you help? NOW!”. The question asked is “Do you have a backup?” Ninety percent of the time, the answer is “No,”. In addition to the loss of business while data is being recovered, some micro businesses could be liable for loss of accounting,

tax and employee information, if the data is ultimately lost. Depending on the industry, the business may have email retention requirements as well.

Proposed solutions

          So what can be done to help data gain some respect and control? Large and medium sized businesses have dedicated staff or contract services to manage data backup, retention, and security issues. Micro businesses do not usually have these resources and may not even recognize the need for such services. There must be a awareness campaign to alert micro business owners to the danger to their whole business of not having  a backup plan. Mounting such an awareness campaign has a element of marketing for service providers, but publishing an article such as this can raise that awareness. Micro businesses can learn from larger businesses and develop a mini disaster recovery plan.

          Large firms have dedicated staff to perform nightly backup, do studies to determine data retention polices and insure the hardware is performing or is replaced. The Micro business owner is that staff. They must take a proactive approach to disaster recovery.

          The key to the solution is self-discipline. The consequence of ignoring the problem could end the business. A survey by the National Archives and Records Administration found 50% of businesses that lost data in a disaster and didn’t have a data management plan filed for bankruptcy right away (Lack of Data Backup Leaves Companies Vulnerable, 2006). The survey was referring to natural disasters such as hurricanes and fire, but a hard drive failure on a clear day is still a disaster.

          Independent accountants are a large part of the Micro business population, many of them being sole proprietors. They recognize the importance of data more than most. The following is a computer disaster recovery checklist, published in an accounting

trade magazine, that can be a great start to a mini disaster recovery plan for any business (Computer Backups Checklist, 1994).

1.    Secure computer equipment

2.    Back up data daily

3.    Monitor backup procedures daily to ensure they are strictly followed.

4.    Maintain a current list of hardware and serial numbers as well as software and version numbers.

5.    If employees are allowed to take equipment out of the office, set up and follow a system that tracks usage and returns

6.    Acquire a fire rated file cabinet in which to store and maintain valuable data processing equipment and software

7.    Acquire antivirus software.

          Additional advice is provided from other Data-Disaster Survivors (MaCarthy, 2007)

1. “Subscribe to an offsite, Internet based data backup service” – a word of warning here. While these services are advertised as a simple solution, they should not be used as an exclusive solution. Local backups on physical media, such as DVD may provide immediate availability if your Internet connectivity is interrupted as as result of your “disaster”

             2. “Keep electronic backups off premises.” Find a safe place for these backups. The glove compartment of your car does not qualify. Consider a fireproof safe in the

home of  a designated employee or the owner. Establish a rotation scheme and stick to it. Only bring media back to the office if it is necessary for recovery. Remember, media is inexpensive. Don’t try to use re-writeable media to save a few pennies. DVD’s are the recommended media because of their permanence. Break DVD’s into pieces for final disposal.  A portable hard drive or flash drive is a simple solution, but is prone to the same failure possibilities as the hard drive in your computer.  Yes, flash drives fail too.

          3. “Periodically print a paper copy of client lists.” This extends to other lists that might be appropriate. Consider keeping a copy of the paper lists offsite with your electronic media.  

          4. “Take pictures of your office or store.” This may not be necessary for a hard drive for a hard drive failure, but we are referring to all types of disaster here.

Summary and Conclusion

          Be aware of the problem. It’s all about the data. “Data problems come about when little regard is paid to the consequences of data replication.” (Solomon, 2005)

          Take Inventory. In order to protect what you have, you have to know what you have. This includes hardware and software. For each computer used in the business, there should be a list of brand and model numbers, operating system restore disks (if you don’t have them, use the onboard creation utility or order replacements from the manufacturer), and disks for installed software.

          Large companies have software inventory programs. Use a program like Belarc Advisor (Belarc, Inc, 2009), a PC Audit utility, that will list the hardware specifications and the versions of software loaded. You may qualify for the free version. Be sure to

save printed copies! It does no good to know the inventory program is on the computer, if the computer does not run.

          When you load new software, keep the disks in a secure place. Also keep the disk cases or envelopes, as they frequently have authorization or registration codes necessary for reloading.

          Develop a Plan for disaster and follow it. This is a key point. It doesn’t have to be fancy but it must be written out and thought through. It should be revisited at least once a year for changing circumstances.

          Backup, Backup, Backup. Respect your data. It is your livelihood.

Remember the Ten Commandments of Data Protection (Eckel, 2006)

1.    Start with a written plan

2.    Back up data daily

3.    Properly label backups

4.    Review backup settings

5.    Maintain multiple backups

6.    Ensure that the backup medium is sound

7.    Regularly test backups

8.    House a backup offsite

9.    Don’t overlook security

10. Revisit backup routines

Clean House. Excess data will slow your computer. At least once a year, a thorough review of the data on each drive needs to be performed. A “Spring cleaning” could be scheduled after the annual tax filing process. This is a great time to review

what you need going forward and what can be deleted. A special backup set should be made just before the delete process is started. After backing up data to removable storage, excess data should be deleted. Running the defragmentation utility will reorganize the remaining data for best performance.

Showing respect for the data accumulated during the normal course of business will keep your business going.

            

Bibliography

Backup Data Dogging Business. (2008). The Information Management Journal , 19.

Belarc, Inc. (2009). Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit (Version 8.1b). Retrieved from Belarc.com: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

CDW Corpration. (2009, July). Shop CDW. Retrieved July 2009, from CDW Corporation: www.cdw.com

Computer Backups Checklist. (1994, August). Journal of Accountancy , 86.

Eckel, E. (2006, August 25). The Ten Commandments of Data Protection. Retrieved from InformIT: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=601863

Lack of Data Backup Leaves Companies Vulnerable. (2006, Nov/Dec). Retrieved from BNET The Go-To Place for Management: www.bnet.com

MaCarthy, E. (2007, February). Tech Tools for Disaster Recovery. Journal of Finacial Planning , 28-34.

Solomon, M. (2005, Summer). It's all all about the data. Information Systems Mangement , 75-80.

Storage Review. (2005). Reference Guide - Hard Disk Drives. Retrieved from Storage Review: http://www.storagereview.com/guide2000/ref/hdd/perf/qual/specLife.html

Swartz, N. (2003, November). Survey Reveals Disaster Recovery Expectations and Reality. Information Management Journal , 8.