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
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.
Disaster recovery plan checklist is a recipe for disaster. Make a list and implement the steps to keep business up and functioning even in the worst of times. I have a disaster recovery plan checklist site. It pretty much covers disaster recovery plan checklist related stuff.
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