FEBRUARY TECH NEWS                                 630-236-6625
Issue: 2
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We Hope You Find The Content Useful, Interesting and Enjoyable. 

  RPO, RTO and MTO, Oh My!

  

   Most businesses make the HUGE (and costly) error of mistaking a "backup" with data recovery and business continuity. NOT true! Simply having a copy of your data stored somewhere does not automatically guarantee you'll be back up and running again like you were before. To give our readers a better idea of this concept, we've included a diagram (below) from the BCM Institute explaining three key concepts: Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Maximum Tolerable Outage (MTO, or MTPOD as shown below). In order to choose the RIGHT type of back up for your company, you need to know what these three acronyms mean.

 

     First, the RPO or Recovery Point Objective is the point to where you want your data restored. So, if you can't afford to lose a day of work, your RPO may be practically "instant," requiring a snapshot of your workstation or server every 15 minutes. If you can afford to lose a day of work, you only need a backup every night. Next, the RTO or Recovery Time Objective is the length of time you will be down after a disaster while your workstation or network is restored. Again, different backups will provide shorter (or much longer) RTO depending on what it takes to restore the data. For example, many businesses are shocked to discover it could take 5-7 days or more to restore all their data from a Carbonite or Mozy backup, plus another couple of days to rebuild everything; and since most businesses cannot afford to be down that long, another type of backup is needed.

 

     And finally, MTO or Maximum Tolerable Outage is the "code red" point in time where you MUST have your data, operations, e-mail and applications back online and functioning before it would severely threaten your company's survival. In some cases, businesses cannot afford certain processes to be down for more than a couple of hours, such as online ordering during the holidays for an e-commerce company or payroll processes for a HR company. And often a company can do without their file server for a couple of days, but couldn't afford to have their call center down that long before they would start losing business and clients.

 

     The key is to know WHAT data and business processes are MOST critical to you so the proper backup and disaster recovery solution can be put in place now before everything goes kaput (that's the technical term for "goes wrong"). To get your data recovery handled properly, call us to discuss a Disaster Recovery Review to determine if you truly COULD be back up and running again as fast as you expect, and what you need to do now to guarantee zero unpleasant surprises.  Call us today at 630-236-6625.

 

 Feb Newsletter

What To Do When Your Inbox Is FULL Of Important Messages You Don't Want To Delete

 

 

There's no doubt about it: e-mail has become the single most important communication tool for businesses. But messages pile up quick, taking up storage space that can be expensive to back up. And since deleting everything isn't always an option when certain threads contain important info about projects, contracts and client communications, the smartest option it to archive your inbox.

 

   Archiving is simply a process of removing old (but important) e-mails from your "active" inbox and folders to a compressed, encrypted backup, freeing up space in your inbox and preserving your e-mails should you need to dig them up at some point in the future. Should you archive? The answer is "Yes" for 3 important reasons:

 

1. Compliance Regulation: Obviously some businesses, such as medical offices and financial institutions, are affected by this more than others. However, all records pertaining to a company's activities are subject to compliance regulation, including employee records and communications, e-mail threads discussing contracts or other negotiations and financial documentation. It's inevitable that you will have e-mail messages touching one or more of these areas that you are required by law to keep for a period of time.

 

2. Litigation Support: Almost every company operating will, at some point, be implicated in a lawsuit. When that happens, the court may require you to produce all records and communications relevant to the case in a "timely manner," no matter how far back the communications took place. If a good e-mail archiving solution wasn't used, it could cost MORE to conduct the discovery than the cost of the case itself.

 

3. Storage Management: If you don't want to be forced to delete current e-mails to make room for new messages, then archiving is a smart option. Of course, NOT all archiving solutions are created equal! Make sure you consult us on which one would work best for your company before making any decisions.

 

Call us today at 630-236-6625 we can help you with an archiving solution.

 

  "Super Wi-Fi" Coming This Year Promises An End To Dead Spots    

 

   Get ready for a new type of Wi-Fi coming online in 2013 called, "Super Wi-Fi." What is it? As defined by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), it's a stronger, more powerful wireless networking connection that uses the lower-frequency white spaces between television channel frequencies instead of the 2.4 GHz radio frequencies of the Wi-Fi we all know and love. These lower frequencies allow the signal to travel further and penetrate walls better than the radio frequencies used in Wi-Fi today. 

 

 

   Why do I say, "As defined" by the FCC? Because it's not really a form of wireless networking; therefore, the name "Super Wi-Fi" is being questioned and criticized by organizations who feel it's a copyright infringement on the Wi-Fi name. Politics!

 

   Whatever it ends up being called, this new wireless connectivity could make it a lot easier (and faster) to get online. As you might expect, it's being championed by the likes of Google and Microsoft who have heavy investments in cloud computing and wireless networking. Until now, there have only been a few beta networks where people can use it. But like any new technology, the delivery will get cheaper, faster and more ubiquitous, particularly in rural areas and other dead spots where broadband wireless isn't available. Essentially, if you can get a TV signal, you'll be able to get high-speed Internet access. 

 

 

 
In This Issue
RPO, RTO and MTO
Email Archiving
Super Wi-Fi
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TRIVIA

First person to submit the correct answers by email to anorton@osgusa.com  will receive a $25 Starbuck gift card!

  

Entries are judged by date/time received and correctness. Include your name and phone number, the question number and the answer.

 

1) What year did the Dow Jones Industrial Average break both the 4000 and 5000 marks?
 

2) Who was the youngest man to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
 

3) What 19th-century president erroneously noted: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet"? 

 

4) What presidential election year saw Republicans dub Democrats the party of "Communism, Corruption and Korea"?


 

 

 


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