T-Mobile Proves The Importance of Data Recovery, The Hard Way
Still reeling from the repercussions of its monster service outage and data loss incident, wireless provider T-Mobile has become a living example concerning the importance of data recovery solutions. Unfortunately, they’re the example of what not to do. Immediately, as a business owner, two questions come to mind:
- “If this can happen to a 36,000-employee organization, can it happen to my small business?”
- “How do I prevent this from happening to me?”
For T-Mobile, the troubles started when Microsoft’s subsidiary Danger, which stores data for T-Mobile’s Sidekick users, reported an unspecified incident resulting in a massive system crash in its main and backup data centers. According to a statement from T-Mobile, Sidekick users’ data including contacts, calendars, photos, and other personal information “has almost certainly been lost.” As consolation, users have been offered a $50 credit to their bill and a $100 credit to any other product or service.
This incident not only validates what many information technology experts have been saying all along, but reiterates the pressing need for more companies to acquire quality data support and IT security. It also is a reminder to talk to employees about the importance of transacting important information or material through a secure and reliable resource like an office computer rather than a personal cell phone.
So, the imperative question: Could this all have been avoided? Absolutely. One commentator on the issue put it best when he offered the invariably simple solution: “have more than one copy of your data.” And I would add, “in separate locations.”
For more solutions to data support issues, check out our additional resources listed below. And if you’re serious about preventing your organization from data loss, contact a local IT professional today.
[photo: NickStarr]
Additional Resources:
What if Data Loss Happen to You?
Why are off-site data backups so important?
Tags: data loss, information technology experts, small business it security, T-Mobile