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Redundant Systems and IT Assets That Every Business Should Have

Discover key redundant systems and tech assets vital for business continuity and efficiency. Ensure your business is prepared and resilient.

redundant it assets
Bingle Flickerini

May 31, 2024

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No one wants to be redundant – unless you are talking about your network infrastructure and technological assets, that is! The term “redundancy,” used in this context, refers to smart, strategic duplications of mission-critical components and infrastructure at your company. If one of those elements goes down, the backup picks up the slack immediately, with no lengthy downtime or delay.

Redundancy is important for business continuity, ensuring the operational flow of business-critical assets and services even during unexpected outages. Data integrity is preserved, as you have failover systems to ensure nothing is lost and data backups cover you even if the unthinkable happens. In short, if you want operational efficiency, you need to plan for redundancy in your systems, networks, and tech assets. In this article, the Lightyear team will walk you through all things redundancy, including how to select the assets that would benefit from a redundancy solution.

Data Backup Solutions

Everything starts with a great backup. You may be sick of your IT department haranguing you about regular backups. Don’t they know you have work to do? You’ll be singing a different tune if that work disappears into the ether, never to be recovered!

Regular backups are critical to protect against data loss from hardware failures, cyberattacks, or simple human error. However, that same human error means backups are often paused, skipped, or not checked for data integrity. Using an automated system means you skip the need for manual intervention, removing a weak link from your backup ecosystem.

There are many ways to achieve this. Onsite backups are a must for daily “housekeeping,” keeping data on hand at your premises for quick recovery. However, that alone isn’t enough. Offsite backups store your data at a separate physical location, ensuring against local disasters and theft. Cloud backups store the data on a remote server, with easy scalability and fast remote access. Using a combination, as well as different iterative backups (such as daily, weekly, and monthly), helps to future-proof your business in any scenario. Well, almost any. You still want to ensure that no unauthorized person can access that data. Here, encryption and other security measures will help. Encrypting data, especially for cloud backups, ensures that even if the data is intercepted or accessed without permission, it will be unreadable, while enacting strict access control to that data will help prevent the risk in the first place.  

Redundant Internet Connections

So, now you have your data safely protected. What about keeping your company working even during internet outages? There are many reasons why companies look to a single internet service provider – convenience, simplified contracts and billing, and so on. However, when you have only one point of access to the internet, you are offline if it goes down. Having redundant, or failover, connections that can pick up the slack is the key to business continuity. If you’re looking for a reliable redundant connection that can still be easily and centrally managed, why not try Lightyear’s platform? This is exactly what we designed it for. While you may want to consider outright duplication of your existing WAN infrastructure for mission-critical applications, many businesses look to lower-cost solutions for their redundant internet. For example, running a high-bandwidth dedicated fiber connection for day-to-day internet, a lower-bandwidth redundant fiber connection for mission-critical apps, and a broadband connection for “just-in-case” on less critical tasks. There is real value in exploring a different type of connection, as well as a different ISP, for the best possible redundancy. Secondary wired internet will give you a stable, cost-effective solution in typical cases. However, satellite internet, or even wireless mobile solutions, provide a different path to internet access. This could be valuable if, say, a fire or earthquake affects all local fiber connections. Whatever you choose, make sure you can seamlessly switch between your primary and secondary connections for ease and convenience.

Power Supply Redundancy

With your data backed up, and a redundant connection in place, you’re good to go, right? Not so fast! One of the hazards of the digital age is that when the power goes out, your cutting-edge tech is little more than a fancy doorstop. Not only does that interrupt profit-making activities, but there is a risk of data loss if saves or backups are suddenly interrupted, or work isn’t saved at all before the cut. Additionally, unstable or fluctuating power, or even sudden power loss, can damage all that expensive equipment. Here, you want to look at alternate power solutions (like generators or solar) to keep business-critical applications online. What about those risks of sudden data loss, though? In-line uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) kick in the moment an outage is detected, giving you time to properly save and boot down. Simply having these plans isn’t enough. You need to regularly test and maintain them, so they are always ready to work for you.

Redundant Hardware Components

Now, let’s talk about hardware. It pays to design your infrastructure with the most critical components (servers, switches, routers) duplicated, so in the event one device fails, the other can take up the load. No need to wait for replacements or callouts, just back to work. This can get expensive. Luckily, there’s no need to create this redundancy for every device. Focus on what’s mission-critical and prioritize them for redundancy. You have two redundancy options here as well. Hot-swappable components are designed to work in pairs, instantly swapping over as needed without having to shut down the whole system. This is an effective but costly option. Less important components, like secondary routers, could be paired “cold,” where some manual intervention will be needed to make the swap. After that, you are back up and running!

Cloud Computing Services

As cloud services run, well, in the cloud, the “core” of your data is stored away from your premise on a virtual server and can be accessed from anywhere –  sometimes even on your own hardware within a data center (known as data colocation). We often see this highlighted as a perk for remote teams and dispersed setups. However, it is also a fantastic redundancy measure, especially for automated backups. Of course, with any remote access type, security needs to be front and center. Here, data encryption, access controls, and regular security audits are your defenses. Choose a cloud partner with robust security of their own, compliant with industry standards, and ensure your own security protocols are tight, too. Data sovereignty is another consideration. This refers to the legal implications of storing data in specific geographical locations. Ensure you understand your local regulations, and that your cloud-data storage complies with relevant regulations and policies. Work with a cloud provider in an appropriate jurisdiction, with transparent data handling policies.

Disaster Recovery Plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail, as the saying goes. All the redundancy options we’ve touched on above need to be in place before the need arises. Additionally, staff need to know what to do, what is available, and how to put the company’s disaster recovery plan into effect. Don’t have a disaster recovery plan yet? It’s time to fix that. An effective disaster recovery plan includes several key components.

  • First, conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential threats and their impact.

  • Next, line up clear recovery objectives. What downtime is acceptable on what components? What are the limits of data loss you can absorb? 

  • Make certain you understand the assets you have in place, to properly plan around them and identify areas that need work.

  • Now, outline step-by-step recovery procedures for restoring uptime, systems, and data.

  • Ensure smart proactive systems, like regular and diverse backups, are in place to support the plan. 

  • Be sure to connect with all stakeholders when devising this plan, in case you miss a critical area.

This plan is not a static entity, either. It should be regularly reviewed and updated, ensuring everything is relevant. Especially if infrastructure or partners change. Test the plan, too, so you can identify weaknesses and oversights before you need a smooth, functioning disaster response.

Redundant Communication Channels

Digital connections and communication are the lifeblood of modern businesses. Typically, your email, messaging apps, and VoIP services will be part of your business-critical infrastructure, at least for important internal communications and customer-facing channels. Luckily, if you have multiple communication channels in place, they can act as a form of redundancy for each other.

Communication redundancy is crucial in crisis management, ensuring uninterrupted and reliable communication during emergencies. With multiple options open to you, you avoid a single point of failure – the core lesson in redundancy. Where you need secure communication, ensure there are encryption and authentication protocols to protect sensitive information. Regularly test the systems, too, to ensure they are working as planned. Diverse, secure, reliable communication means you can coordinate disaster responses, pass on critical information, and maintain business continuity in a crisis.

Version Control Systems

You have “a” backup. One. You’re diligent, and regularly refresh it. What happens when someone accidentally loads malware onto the backup device, not realizing it was infected? Your single backup is now useless. Or imagine the power fails while working on a critical document. You need to get it to the customer, stat. You switch to generator power and mail it off. Only to realize the recovered version didn’t have your recent updates. Version control is vital for managing software and digital assets, enabling teams to track changes, collaborate effectively, and maintain a history of modifications. It ensures that every change is documented, allowing for easy rollbacks to previous versions if issues arise. There are many ways to handle version control. Best practices include using a central version control system (Git is one) to ensure easy collaboration and error reduction. Commit changes with clear, descriptive messages for clarity. You can also consider branching strategies, like feature branching, so two people can work on the same source without conflict (parallel development). This needs consistent merging controls and reviews for seamless operation.

Redundant Security Systems

Who is watching your back while you work? Businesses commonly forget their security features and systems when planning redundancy, although it is most definitely a business-critical application. Luckily, many of the strategies we’ve touched on above work as well for security infrastructure. Just make sure you have included your security protocols in your redundancy plan. For example:

  • Data backups, especially offsite or cloud, for CCTV footage and security logs

  • UPSs and backup power to keep security protocols operational

  • Secondary internet connections to ensure wi-fi cameras, and so on, are always on

Again, regularly assess and update security redundancy to ensure you are covered, no matter what.

Cross-training Employees

Last, but far from least, is one of your most important business assets – your staff. Will your business grind to a halt the day that one PA or IT guy can’t make it to work?

Cross-training is an effective way to build “redundancy” into your staffing without having to over-staff your businesses, ensuring operational redundancy.

  • Identify critical roles and skills in your business.

  • Select employees with the potential to learn these skills, including overlaps in their current role. 

  • Develop structured training plans with clear objectives and timelines.

  • Use a mix of training methods, such as hands-on practice, job shadowing, and formal courses, to address different learning styles.

Cross-training also needs a “culture of knowledge sharing” within the workplace. Focus on regular workshops and team collaborations, offer meaningful feedback and assessment, and recognize and reward cross-trained employees for their participation. A versatile, adaptable workforce motivated to do their best will follow.

Are you ready to put your new redundancy plans into action? Lightyear is always ready to help you find the perfect data-backed solution for your connectivity needs, including creating diverse and redundancy network systems. Feel free to reach out to us today.

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