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The Costs of Computer Data Recovery

27 April, 2009 13:59

One of the factors a business should consider when evaluating business continuity plans is the cost of data recovery.  The three biggest variables are the upfront cost, the amount of time the recovery will take, and the amount of data that will be recovered.  Business continuity plans can range from simply not having any plan to back up computer data, through the use of external drives, to backing up at a completely remote location.
  • If you have no backup system at all, you will need to try to recover what you can from the failed hard drive.  In general, the faster the turnaround time you're promised, the higher the price you'll be quoted.  Remember to factor in the amount of time the recovery will take into your calculations of the price.  For example, is three hundred dollars a reasonable price to pay if you won't have the data back for a month?  That may depend on how important it is for you to have access to that data. Data recovery isn't guaranteed, and the cost of the recovery won't tie directly into how much you can ultimately use from the failed hard drive.  Whether you attempt to recover the data from your crashed computer yourself or use an IT professional, the hours spent will be the greatest expense.  Until the recovery is completed, there's no way to tell which of your data will be usable.
  • Recovery from an onsite backup system can save a lot of time and money in the case of a crash, provided that the most recent successful backup isn't missing anything critical.  These systems require an upfront cost.  After a new computer was set up with all the necessary programs installed, the backup system should be able to restore all data from the last backup.  Assuming that the backup was run recently enough, the business may spend as little as one to three days without the crashed computer's data.  If the backup failed or someone forgot to run the program, you may have to try to recover the lost data from the failed drive.
  • Online backup systems like Remote Vault Pro Enterprise usually have a monthly fee that is tied to the amount of memory needed.  Recovery time can be as little as half an hour, from a backup that was made no more than fifteen minutes earlier.  If necessary, a virtual server with all your programs on it can be created until you get whatever new hardware you may need.  The cost is a planned expense, instead of being an expensive emergency.

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