Any CIO will tell you that data preservation is one of the organization’s highest priorities. Data that is corrupted, physically destroyed, or compromised in some other way can bring a company’s operations to a halt.

A business can suffer legal consequences, too, for failing to preserve data. Most countries have regulations that require certain types of data to be retained, sometimes for decades, even if it is no longer in active use, or is tied to a system that was retired long ago.

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for data replication. Each organization needs to ask itself some questions about its data replication and preservation needs.

Key Data Replication and Archiving Considerations

Some of the questions you should ask in relation to your data archiving and replication strategy include:

What data needs to be archived, and to where? Not all data needs to be archived. The exact kinds of data that need to be archived, and for how long, depend on your regulatory environment or contractual obligations. Where the data is archived is also important and depends on how quickly it needs to be retrieved if needed, physical distance requirements, and other factors.
How much data needs to be archived and what is the annual growth rate? This can affect storage costs.
What replication frequency is needed? This depends on how the replicated (as distinguished from archived) data will be used. Real-time dashboards, daily reports, or a “hot standby” facility to take over in the event of a disaster all have different replication frequency requirements.
What database platform is needed for replication? Like replication frequency, this depends on how the data will be used. In some cases a local database server cluster or a separate on-premise data center is sufficient. In other cases, a cloud solution, such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services, is more suitable.

Get Help to Define Your Strategy

If your organization doesn’t have a solid data replication and archiving strategy, or the one you have no longer fits your needs, it might be time to get some professional help. Precision Bridge can help you answer the questions above and others that are important to defining your strategy.

Precision Bridge can also design a solution around your unique needs that optimizes cost, storage space, and bandwidth requirements while meeting your regulatory requirements.

To get started on the road to a better data replication and archiving strategy, contact a Precision Bridge consultant today.