How To Ensure Proactive Backup Reporting in Your Environment

 

Have you ever seen the movie Toy Story 2?  It might shock you to hear that this film was nearly lost for good during its production stage. Just like any other close call regarding a potential backup disaster, this film almost didn’t make it to the box office ultimately because of poor backup practices. In fact, someone accidently ran a command that caused the files of the film to begin disappearing.

 

Those in charge could have done something to salvage the film had their backups been in order, but unfortunately, they noticed that the movie file backups had been failing for over a month! By the time they needed the backups, it was too late. This story could have resulted in a huge disaster. However, a wise director had saved copies of the movie files to a home computer, and the film was salvaged. Whew!  Talk about saving the day!

 

Data Disasters Are Imminent With Failed Backups

In the story above, one of the main problems you can see was with the failing backups going unnoticed for so long. When IT teams zero in on proactive backup reporting, they can rest assured that vital information is being provided which is so extensive that failed backups are not able to go unnoticed for so long, as happened in the Toy Story 2 scenario. In fact, tools exist today that offer a way to see all necessary data so that backups are capable of running as effectively and efficiently as possible. Issues are identified in real time, meaning problems can get fixed before disaster strikes. Better yet, these tools are capable of being configured in order to send alerts for failed backups and even for potential future failures as well. 

 

With the Right Tools, Backups Are Much More Efficient

By implementing the proper proactive reporting tools into your environment, you can expect to have a variety of performance issues brought to your attention almost immediately. In-depth information can easily be provided which will help users better understand various procedures and hardware devices within their sphere. Another bonus to these tools is that the backup procedures can be manipulated in such a way that they will run in the most efficient manner possible.

 

Unique Reports and the Ability to Create More of Them

The beautiful thing about the tools on the market today which aid with proactive backup reporting is the fact that they offer a wide variety of reports for all different types of users. These specialized reports are created in order to provide what is needed for a vast array of users, such as those who are in the IT world and those within the business world. By incorporating these tools, you will see that two reporting options exist in order to facilitate customized reports.

 

To explain further, one method of reporting is created specifically for users who are more advanced, while the other method is meant for users who would consider themselves non-technical. With this option of creating reports, the non-technical users are able to write their very own reports. Talk about helpful!  Another benefit of these solutions is that they offer a vast selection of dashboards which are fully customizable to meet the unique preferences of each individual user.

 

These Tools Facilitate Better Planning for Administrators and Teams

The products available today that help with proactive backup reporting are extremely helpful when it comes to capacity planning. By viewing historical data, IT teams have a better grasp on the speed at which storage areas will fill up and the amount of time needed in order to reach capacity in the future. These tools are also capable of identifying extra storage space in the backup environment, as well as determining who the users are who are hogging too much precious storage space.

 

By Implementing These Solutions, Clients Can Expect a Safe Backup Environment that is Highly Effective

The tools mentioned above are effective for any business, no matter the size. In fact, many of these products have the capability of supporting over thirty backup spheres and applications, and are also able to offer reports which are helpful when it comes time for audits. It should come as no surprise that these products are also excellent at meeting and exceeding the requirements regarding compliance expectations.

 

Users will be delighted when they experience the upgrade in efficiency, the reduction of risks, and the excellent protection of their data. With all of these benefits and the money saved, specific reports produced and customizable dashboards, what more could anybody ask for when it comes to proactively managing a backup environment? 

 

Jason Zhang is the product marketing person for Rocket Software's
Backup, Storage, and Cloud solutions.

 

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