“My crumpet broke my backup system!”
I never imagined that I’d hear these words on a call.
Backing up and a good IT infrastructure are business-critical. Many things can cause a system failure, including human error, cyber attacks, and even natural disasters, but a crumpet is a new one for us!
The caller explained that he had encountered a problem that could have been devastating to his small business and wanted to know what we could do to help.
He explained that all working data is stored in a NAS (Network Attached Storage) that automatically backs up in real-time. There is also a secure manual backup in the cloud, and physical backups are created occasionally. All of the business data is accessed remotely through these systems.
Over Christmas, key client files were completely migrated and rearranged into centralised folders on a new, high-security system. He also archived older projects, removed duplicates, etc. Final manual backups were not carried out.
Last Friday, he tripped the main fuse in his building by sticking a fork in a toaster to remove a bit of crumpet that had become lodged in there. He admitted that electrical safety is not one of his strengths.
After resetting the main fuses, he returned to his computers, and, to his absolute horror, he found that his client folders had disappeared from his system. All because of a bit of crumpet. The lost data included significant collaborative input from customers and partners, including content, files, and videos. Rebuilding it all would take months, and the old manual backups did not contain the key files he had created during the previous fortnight. Project delivery deadlines were imminent, and letting down and potentially losing key customers was a strong possibility.
He managed to rescue a handful of folders. Some early project files were found on his manual backups, but he could not find any trace of his other work. A sleepless night later, he logged back into his system and found, mercifully, that all of his data had reappeared on the NAS! Phew!
Whilst he was relieved, it was clear to him that his business needed to have better processes, software, and possibly new hardware too, and that led him to contact us for help. Oh, and he also vowed that he would never put a fork into a toaster again.
MicroSystem Support is helping him now, but his experience shows that the smallest mishaps can potentially cause the collapse of a small business… even a fork in the wrong hands.
P.S. Thank you to “anonymous” for letting me share his experience.
