Why Hard Drive Recovery Saves Companies Money

T-Mobile Suffers Severe Data Loss from Poor Backup

Oct 11, 2009 Jennifer Marsh

Hard drive recovery is required for anyone who needs backup of important information. T-Mobile is an example of a large company that suffered data loss and money.

For T-Mobile customers who own a Sidekick, they are now hearing the news that the weekend’s outage for the cellular service isn’t just a minor glitch. In fact, T-Mobile Sidekick users have been made aware that their private information, contacts, and other network information are lost forever.

Danger, a subsidiary of Microsoft, is responsible for the data of millions of T-Mobile users. Instead of proper hard drive recovery processes, the provider has suffered extreme data loss that most responsible companies are able to contain with better data recovery methods.

Outsourcing Hard Drive Recovery and Data Backup

Danger and T-Mobile had an agreement using a method called cloud computing. T-Mobile held the information of its clients and users, and Danger held the data backup and storage necessary for the mass amount of information saved on one of the most popular cellular phones on the market. Sidekick users hold a large portion of the cell phone market, and the smart phone is popular among any handheld enthusiast.

Cloud computing allowed T-Mobile to host user information and pass hard drive recovery methods to a third party, lowering the responsibility of the cell phone company. T-Mobile has leveraged this technology so any type of hard drive recovery or data backup did not fall on the company’s shoulders. However, Danger’s changes and network architecture did not properly store the large cell phone company’s data, so the loss of Sidekick information has shown how important it is for better backup recovery procedures.

Hard Drive Recovery Procedures

Small and large companies can learn from the Danger and T-Mobile data loss disaster. Large companies that use cloud computing should verify that any outsourced vendors use proper procedures that keep the corporate information safe. Hard drive recovery and data backups are also a part of any small business or individual who needs to maintain some kind of integrity.

Many people realize that data backups are important only after a data loss disaster occurs. The following are some basic hard drive backup procedures that can save the user time when data loss suddenly strikes:

• Keep all CD-ROM backups in a safe place in the home or office
• Purchase a portable hard drive or flash drive for quick backups
• Schedule backups daily to save any information that is processed during the work day
• Store all data in a central location to make hard drive backup procedures easier
• Create backups of servers for quick turnaround in downtime emergencies
• Use Norton Ghost to create a full image of the hard drive, so hard drive recovery is quicker

Hard drive recovery is one of the most important disasters to consider when creating a network or even for a single user. Creating backups in case of data loss secures the user’s information and creates a decreased turnaround time for recovery. The T-Mobile data loss disaster is an example of why even the largest company can implement poor IT procedures when rushing into a new application launch. Always consider the best backup procedures when data is integral to business online presence.

References:

New York Times

The copyright of the article Why Hard Drive Recovery Saves Companies Money in Computer Hardware/Accessories is owned by Jennifer Marsh. Permission to republish Why Hard Drive Recovery Saves Companies Money in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

T-Mobile hard drive recovery

Hard drive recovery is important for data recovery

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